Utako Kojima & Aya Weissman: Special Situation Investing In Japan

This week I'm thrilled to be joined by Utako Kojima and Aya Weissman. Both women work at Horizon Kinetics and help run the Japan Special Opportunity Strategy. 

Aya is a Co-Portfolio Manager and Director of Asia Strategy at Horizon. With over 30 years of investment experience, Aya was previously a founder and Chief Investment Officer of AS Hirota Capital Management, LLC. 

Prior to that, her experiences included acting as a portfolio manager specializing in Japanese securities for Kingdon Capital Management, LLC, a New York–based hedge fund; two years as a partner and Portfolio Manager of Feirstein Hirota Japan Partners, a Japanese long/short hedge fund; and 12 years at Salomon Smith Barney Asset Management, as a Managing Director and Senior Portfolio manager in the US value equity group where she was a founding member of the large cap value equity group, with responsibility for approximately $2 billion in assets

Utako joined the Firm in 2010 as a Portfolio Analyst, primarily focusing on the Firm’s Asia Strategy. Prior to this, Utako was an equity analyst at AS Hirota Capital Management, LLC. Her experience includes consulting in the Valuation Division at Shin-Nihon Ernst & Young Transaction Advisory Services, Tokyo, Japan.

Aya and Utako join the podcast to discuss a unique investment opportunity in Japan called the Parent-Subsidiary Relationship. In short, there's tremendous alpha to be had investing in smaller subsidiaries of larger companies at the point of inflection when the larger company buys back its smaller subsidiary. 

The near hour-long conversation dives deep into the strategy, how they filter the 3,800 Japanese equity universe, The Mother's Index, and the changing cultural dynamics in Japanese business.