FletcherBennett Capital LLC has announced the hire of Somer Hatano as Director of Investor Coverage for Japan to specifically address the unique needs of Japanese institutional investors. FletcherBennett is a consulting firm for the hedge fund industry, specializing in business development and institutional investment. Ms. Hatano joins the firm with experience covering Japanese investors during her 12 years in the alternative investment industry.

Prior to joining FletcherBennett, Ms. Hatano managed her own firm, Alpha Dialogue Advisors, LLC, a business development and consulting firm advising hedge funds and private equity funds in raising assets from Japanese investors. Previously, Ms. Hatano worked in the capital introduction group at Morgan Stanley Japan in Tokyo. She earned a BA in International Relations from SUNY, New Paltz.

In her new role, Ms. Hatano will be responsible for the delivery of FletcherBennett consulting services to Japanese institutional investors located in Japan and elsewhere. Specifically, she will help firms overcome cultural and language barriers, as well as unfamiliar corporate, legal and compliance structures.

In previous research, Ms. Hatano surveyed 367 Japanese institutional investors and found that 60% of respondents indicated there is insufficient investment information available within Japan to effectively invest in alternative assets. With her strong professional and cultural background in, addition to her fluency in Japanese, Ms. Hatano will develop effective strategies and solutions to bridge this divide on behalf of all FletcherBennett clients.

“Particularly over the past decade, the Japanese have been significant investors, yet many hedge fund managers find tackling this market challenging from a time and resource perspective,” said Andrew Dabinett, Managing Director, FletcherBennett Capital LLC. “We’re excited to incorporate Somer’s extensive experience, insight and knowledge of the Japanese market into our comprehensive services.”