Dai-ichi Life to increase stake in UK hedge fund Capula

Japanese insurer Dai-Ichi Life Holdings is making an additional investment of approximately 10.3% in Capula Investment Management LLP and Capula Management Limited, a UK-based alternative management firm with expertise in fixed-income arbitrage, crisis alpha and global macro strategies. Dai-ichi Life already holds a ~4.7% stake in Capula.

Capula is an alternative asset management company established in 2005 by co-founders Yan Huo and Masao Asai. As of the end of 2024, its assets under management totaled $31.8 billion. Capula is headquartered in London, UK, with additional offices in Japan, the United States, Hong Kong, and Singapore, employing a total of 408 executives and staff, including 142 investment professionals. Its flagship fund, the Global Relative Value Master Fund, is the world’s largest fixed-income arbitrage fund and has delivered some of the best investment results in the industry, with an average annual return of 8.29% and a Sharpe ratio of 2.47 since its inception in 2005.

Dai-ichi Life has been exploring inorganic growth opportunities in the capital-light asset management business, with the aim of achieving a group corporate value of JPY 10 trillion and a profit target of JPY 600 billion by 2030. The company anticipates that its 15% stake in Capula will generate equity income of approximately JPY 5 billion ($34 million) in FY2025.

Last year, Dai-ichi Life acquired a 19.9% stake in Canyon Partners, a US-based fund with expertise in credit.