Our guest today is also our first-ever Japanese guest, Masumi Nishida from Dalton Investments. This is one of the rare few interviews that he’s done in English.

Masumi-san is a Partner at Dalton Investments, a global investment firm that manages close to $6 billion dollars in assets across the firm's strategies. He is also managing director at Dalton Advisory KK and is part of the team that runs Nippon Active Value Fund (NAVF) a UK-listed investment trust, and their dedicated fund for their activist strategy in Japan.

This is an honest conversation on both the opportunities and the underappreciated difficulties of being an activist investor in Japan, and it’s a rare occasion where you’ll get to learn through his firsthand experience.

In this episode, we discuss:

• Why the activist opportunity in Japan is so compelling today and how he looks for ideas

• The practical realities and difficulties of being an activist in Japan that may go overlooked

• Understanding the minds of Japanese boards and executives

• How social media is changing the landscape for activism globally

• A run-through of one of their previous major activist campaigns Fuji Media

• Dalton’s ambitions with Helios Techno

• What he recommends foreign investors do when investing in Japan

He also shares his unique recommendation for when visiting Japan, so make sure to listen to the end!

Needless to say, we had a blast learning from him. It was as insightful as much as it was humorous. Having grown up in Australia, he’s got such an interesting background himself. He’s so Aussie that the recording platform struggled to transcribe some of what he said.

Thankfully, he did refrain from using slang that everyone else outside of Australia don’t understand.

We hope you enjoy this conversation.

Disclaimer

The information provided in this podcast is for general informational and entertainment purposes only and should not be considered financial, investment, legal, tax, or any other form of professional advice. Investing in financial markets involves risk, and it is possible to lose money. Past performance is not indicative of future results.

The hosts and guests of this podcast are not financial advisors, brokers, or registered investment advisors. The opinions and views expressed in this podcast are solely those of the individuals involved and do not represent the views of any affiliated organizations.

Before making any financial decisions, you should conduct your own thorough research and due diligence. It is strongly recommended that you consult with a qualified financial advisor or other relevant professional who can take into account your individual circumstances, financial goals, and risk tolerance.

We make no representations or warranties of any kind, express or implied, about the completeness, accuracy, reliability, suitability, or availability with respect to the information, products, services, or related graphics contained in this podcast for any purpose. Any reliance you place on such information is therefore strictly at your own risk.

We shall not be liable for any loss or damage, including without limitation, direct, indirect, or consequential loss or damage, or any loss or damage whatsoever arising from loss of data or profits arising out of, or in connection with, the use of this podcast.

By listening to this podcast, you acknowledge that you understand and agree to this disclaimer.

In 2016, Marc and Gabriel launched the Japan Deep Value Fund from Spain without much experience investing in Japan. In fact, they had never set foot. Mind you, against decades of overwhelmingly negative sentiment. Today, their portfolio holds companies trading at 2x EV/EBITDA, sitting on more cash than their market caps, and many haven’t been touched by foreign investors.

In this episode, Marc joins us to unpack the once-in-a-generation thesis that drew him to Japan and why he calls it “the easiest decision of my life”.

We dig into:

• Why they decided to launch a dedicated Japan Deep Value fund

• The “no English filings = mispriced asset” arbitrage that powered his fund and his secret weapon to overcome cultural barriers

• Why Japanese Accounting standards are underrated

• The 2023 inflection point: how Hiromi Yamaji quietly engineered the biggest revolution in the Tokyo Stock Exchange in decades

• Why they think the next 10–20 years of Japanese small caps could mirror US markets 50 years ago

• What they’ve seen over the last 10 years and their evolution as a Japan Investor: Going from pure deep value into a diversified portfolio of value and growth

• Stocks that excite them most today, including Tsubakimoto Kogyo: a 100-year-old trading company hiding in plain sight and heir bullishness on Private equity and consolidators

This is a must listen for those who are interested in investing in Japan but are reluctant due to the language and cultural barriers. He talks about how he’s gotten comfortable and overcoming those challenges.

Finally a special thank you to Marc for being willing to do this interview in English which isn’t his first language and because we couldn’t do it in Spanish…!

Disclaimer

The information provided in this podcast is for generalinformational and entertainment purposes only and should not be consideredfinancial, investment, legal, tax, or any other form of professional advice.Investing in financial markets involves risk, and it is possible to lose money.Past performance is not indicative of future results.

The hosts and guests of this podcast are not financialadvisors, brokers, or registered investment advisors. The opinions and viewsexpressed in this podcast are solely those of the individuals involved and donot represent the views of any affiliated organizations.

Before making any financial decisions, you should conductyour own thorough research and due diligence. It is strongly recommended thatyou consult with a qualified financial advisor or other relevant professionalwho can take into account your individual circumstances, financial goals, andrisk tolerance.

We make no representations or warranties of any kind,express or implied, about the completeness, accuracy, reliability, suitability,or availability with respect to the information, products, services, or relatedgraphics contained in this podcast for any purpose. Any reliance you place onsuch information is therefore strictly at your own risk.

We shall not be liable for any loss or damage, includingwithout limitation, direct, indirect, or consequential loss or damage, or anyloss or damage whatsoever arising from loss of data or profits arising out of,or in connection with, the use of this podcast.

By listening to this podcast, you acknowledge that youunderstand and agree to this disclaimer.

Welcome to Made in Japan! Where we explore the hidden world of Japanese business, investing and culture.

Our guest today is Philip Partnow, CIO and Co-founder of Chronus Capital Advisors.

He's a lawyer turned investment banker turned Activist investor. Needless to say he's got a wealth of multidisciplinary knowledge on the Japanese markets and in particular on activism having been part of the movement in it's early days. He's worked with people like Yoshiaki Murakami of M&A Consulting and Seth Fischer of Oasis Management - and has been a direct witness to the evolution over the last two decades.

He has some incredible stories and we thought he would be the perfect first guest to provide us an introduction into the unique world and history of the Japanese markets.

We discuss things like:

• Reasons why Activism struggled in the past and why that's changing
• Why Activism in Japan is still a huge opportunity today
• Some of the misconceptions of doing Activism in Japan
• How Japanese companies think about M&A
• and some of his favourite things to do in Japan!

We hope you enjoy this episode.

You can find more details on his fund at:

https://chronus-cap.com/

Disclaimer:

The information provided in this podcast is for generalinformational and entertainment purposes only and should not be considered financial, investment, legal, tax, or any other form of professional advice.Investing in financial markets involves risk, and it is possible to lose money.Past performance is not indicative of future results.

The hosts and guests of this podcast are not financialadvisors, brokers, or registered investment advisors. The opinions and views expressed in this podcast are solely those of the individuals involved and do not represent the views of any affiliated organizations.

Before making any financial decisions, you should conductyour own thorough research and due diligence. It is strongly recommended that you consult with a qualified financial advisor or other relevant professional who can take into account your individual circumstances, financial goals, andrisk tolerance.

We make no representations or warranties of any kind,express or implied, about the completeness, accuracy, reliability, suitability, or availability with respect to the information, products, services, or related graphics contained in this podcast for any purpose. Any reliance you place onsuch information is therefore strictly at your own risk.

We shall not be liable for any loss or damage, includingwithout limitation, direct, indirect, or consequential loss or damage, or any loss or damage whatsoever arising from loss of data or profits arising out of, or in connection with, the use of this podcast.

By listening to this podcast, you acknowledge that youunderstand and agree to this disclaimer."