Invesco has been providing alternative investments geared to fit the more process-oriented tastes of institutional investors in the United States since 1992. In 2003 it brought that approach to Japan and has so far raised over $1 billion in assets. Now the firm is targeting traditional institutional investors in Asia ex-Japan. Spearheading this effort is Carlos Higuchi, an ex-Nomura Securities specialist in fixed-income structured products, who joined the firm in Tokyo in 2003 as Asia-Pacific head of alternative products, and has just moved to Hong Kong.
Invesco doesn't try to compete with the typical hedge fund boutique. Instead it goes after institutions such as pension funds by offering alternative exposures based...