Point72 plans to double Japan workforce and capital allocation

Point72 Asset Management is planning to double both its headcount and capital deployment in Japan over the coming years, a move that underscores growing hedge fund conviction in the world’s fourth-largest economy.

The expansion by Steve Cohen’s firm, which manages roughly $58.5B in assets, reflects a broader trend of major Western hedge funds ramping up their presence in Tokyo as Japan’s equity market undergoes its most significant transformation in decades.

Building out the Tokyo operation

Point72 currently employs approximately 54 people in Japan, representing about 1.3% of its roughly 4,100-person global workforce. A doubling would push that number well past 100, making Tokyo one of the firm’s more significant outposts outside the US.

In early 2025, Point72 relocated its Tokyo office to Otemachi One Tower, nearly doubling its physical footprint. The firm first opened a Japan office back in 2011.

In August 2025, Point72 hired Shinji Ogawa from JPMorgan to serve as Head of Japan. Ogawa, who officially started in November 2025, reports to Marc Desmidt, the firm’s Asia-Pacific head.

Back in September 2017, the firm announced plans to double its Tokyo staff from around 30 to more than 60, citing what it described as “enormous” alpha opportunities. That earlier target appears to have been largely met, with the current headcount sitting at 54.

Why Japan, why now

Japan’s corporate governance reforms, which have been accelerating since the Tokyo Stock Exchange began pressuring companies trading below book value to improve capital efficiency, have created a wave of share buybacks, dividend increases, and strategic restructurings.

Cohen himself signaled this direction in a 2023 interview with Nikkei, where he indicated plans for roughly 20% headcount growth in Japan.

The talent pipeline

Roughly half of the firm’s Japan-based portfolio managers started through its LaunchPoint program, an initiative designed to train and develop investment professionals from relatively early in their careers. The firm also runs the Point72 Academy, which serves a similar talent development function.

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