Todai Finance Innovation Program Lecture 9 Report

The 9th lecture of the Todai Finance Innovation Program was held on the 10th October at

the usual venue of the Kojima Conference Hall at the University of Tokyo Hongo Campus. The

lecture dealt with the topic of whether “Funds can play a leading role in the financial system” and

we were privileged to have Akio Yamashita, Representative in Japan and Managing Director for

Fortress Investment Group (Japan), share his opinion on the subject with us.

The lecture began with a brief introduction of Fortress Investment Group before moving

on to cover the core knowledge of what exactly a fund is, where funds usually gather money from,

and what kind of strategies generally exist. There was a brief explanation of alternative assets and

how they compare to traditional assets, in addition to how they may be beneficially incorporated into

a portfolio. With regards to the main question of whether “Funds can play a leading role in the

financial system” it was stressed that not all funds can be treated the same. Therefore, although some

funds will play major roles, others may not necessarily be able to do so.

Akio Yamashita – Representative in Japan and Managing Director for Fortress Investment Group

(Japan).

Previously worked at the Development Bank of Japan and Morgan Stanley.