Somer Hatano
Director, Capital Introductions, Citi Prime Finance
Somer Hatano, Director, leads the Japanese Capital Introductions Program for Citi Prime Finance and is based in New York. She has specialized in bridging Japanese institutional investors and the global alternative investment industry for 14 years. Prior to joining Citi in March of 2011, Somer was Director of Investor Coverage – Japan at FletcherBennett Group. She was Founder and Managing Director of Alpha Dialogue Advisors, LLC., a business development and consulting firm advising some of the world’s leading hedge funds and private equity funds in raising assets from Japanese investors. In 2004, Somer joined Morgan Stanley Japan in Tokyo as the first dedicated capital introductions specialist among all prime brokers based in Japan. In this role, she acted as a liaison for Morgan Stanley’s key hedge fund clients in and outside of Japan introducing them to Japanese institutional investors as well as investors based outside of Japan.
One of her notable and unique accomplishments in the alternative investment industry in Japan is the launch of “AL-IN” Magazine with Soken Inc., the only alternative investment periodical dedicated to Japanese institutional investors. Today, 8000 copies are circulated throughout Japan read by the vast majority of the public and corporate pension plans and financial institutions that are active in alternative investments.
Her article “U.S. Hedge Fund Managers Need Patience, Understanding to Attract Japanese Investors,” (FINalternatives, May 7, 2010) helped many hedge fund managers understand the cultural differences in Japan to achieve an effective marketing strategy in Japan. She has conducted a number of surveys on Japanese pension funds and institutional investors on the topic of alternative investments throughout her tenure in the industry and provided unique insights into the local market.
Somer earned a BA in International Relations from State University of New York, New Paltz.
