Our People

Motoyuki worked at Man Group (FRM) Japan for 16 years, where he led the research, investment, and management of fund of hedge funds. He also led the research, structuring, originating, and obtaining credit ratings for private market strategy products, exercising his in-depth understanding of a broad range of alternative investment strategies and years of experience in investment due diligence and investment management .
Before joining Man Group, Motoyuki built his career as a research analyst at a Washington D.C.-based public policy think tank (American Enterprise Institute), as an equity investment manager and derivatives trader in domestic and international investment offices of a leading Japanese life insurance company, and then as the Head of Risk & Performance Analysis at Morgan Stanley Investment Management Japan.
Prior to establishing Aoyama Investment Research, Inc. (“AIR”) in 2023, Motoyuki was the Chief Investment Officer of a Japanese asset manager, where he was involved in the origination and management of FoFs specializing in private market strategies.
Motoyuki graduated from Waseda University with a Bachelor of Commerce.

Sae accumulated experience as a legal/compliance officer in the Tokyo offices of various financial institutions, including HarbourVest, Man Group, HSBC, and Morgan Stanley Investment Management.
In Man Group, Sae leveraged her legal/compliance experience in operational due diligence on hedge funds and private asset funds, as part of which she also advised the funds’ managers in establishing and improving their control functions, analyzed the relevant regulations in various jurisdictions, structured funds, had discussions with the regulators, and negotiated with funds’ managers on investment terms for the benefit of FoFs investors.
Prior to establishing AIR in 2023 with Motoyuki, Sae worked at an independent Japanese asset management firm specializing in private market strategies, where she was involved in the legal structuring of FoFs and operational due diligence of the underlying funds.
Sae graduated from the University of Tokyo, Faculty of Law.