Cadira Capital Management is an independent investment management company established in Japan in 2022, with the mission of "Connecting the Investment Chain and Beyond". 

Cadira is a word that means "chair" and reflects our desire to always have a place for our stakeholders.

We manage our listed Japanese sustainable equity investment strategy with the aim of contributing to solve global environmental and social challenges while delivering high quality returns to our clients.

Atsuko Ochiai

Audit and Supervisory Board Member

After graduating from the University of Tokyo in 1997, Atsuko joined the Financial Research Institute of Nomura Securities Co., Ltd. as an equity anayst. She then studied abroad in the U.S. and joined Goldman Sachs. For 10 years, she was involved in financial rating advisory services for corporate clients and credit risk management for the company's derivatives and cash trading businesses in Tokyo, London, and Hong Kong. She then worked for a non-profit corporation providing CSR support, leading projects such as a regional development project funded by a corporate grant. She also started her own business in coaching and counseling. Since 2021, she has served as an external director of Jade Group Inc. and a member of its Audit and Supervisory Committee. Since the same year, she has also served as an auditor for the Association for Young Refugees, a certified NPO.

Nobuhito Saima

Director, Head of Risk & Compliance and Head of Internal Audit

After graduating from university in 1994, Nobu has consistently fostered a career in finance and accounting, human resources, and other administrative departments. In 2002, he joined FuNNeX Asset Management where he was responsible for all back-office operations, including finance and accounting, human resources, IT, investment trust accounting, and internal control (compliance operations). In 2008, he was appointed as Director and CFO. In 2013, he joined Portfolia Inc. where he was responsible for finance and accounting, human resources, investment trust accounting, and IT. He then joined Red Phoenix Investments Co., Ltd. in July 2020, where he was responsible for the Compliance Department and the Administration Department.

Kazuta Sakamoto

President and Representative Director, Head of Trading, Head of Operations

Kaz is Co-Founder, President, and Representative Director of Cadira Capital Management, where he is responsible for the operational aspect of the business. He is also actively engaged in market dialogues on impact investing, working with Japan’s Impact Consortium, the Impact-Driven Financing Initiative, policymakers and regulators.

Kaz began his career at the International Monetary Fund (IMF), where he worked in the Middle East and Central Asia Department from 2006 to 2008. He then entered the Ph.D. program in Economics at Boston University, where he conducted research on the impact of the financial sector on the real economy. In 2015, he joined SPARX Asset Management as part of the Global Business Development team, leading global marketing and client development for the firm’s Japan Equity Sustainable Investment Strategy. Over five years, his efforts contributed to growing the strategy’s AUM from zero to more than 100 billion yen from global institutional investors.

Kaz holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in International Relations and Economics with a Minor in Mathematics from The George Washington University, where he graduated Magna Cum Laude and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. He also earned a Master’s degree in Political Economy from Boston University. 

Toshiyuki Matsushita

Representative Director
Head of Investment Advisory, Portfolio Manager

Toshi has over 18 years of Japanese listed equity investment management experience. After graduating from Chuo University, Toshi worked for 7 years as a trader of domestic financial instruments at various domestic asset management companies. In 2006, he was appointed as Vice President, Representative Director and Chief Investment Officer of Blue Bear Investment Managers Co., Ltd., where he managed a foreign-domiciled Japanese equity fund and a domestic Japanese investment limited partnership. In 2010, he joined KIMCO INTERNATIONAL PTE.LTD. and became a director in June 2017, where he was in the portfolio manager of a Japanese equity long & short fund, and head of research for Japanese small- and mid-cap equities. He is a Certified Member Analyst (CMA) of the Securities Analysts Association of Japan, and the author of the book "Fundamental Analysis Methodology and Practical Examples". He is also a Learning Advisor for the Leadership Action Program at Business Breakthrough University in Tokyo, Japan. Toshi is a Chartered Member of the Security Analysts Association of Japan.

Yu Shimizu

Representative Director, Chief Investment Officer
Head of Investment Management, Portfolio Manager 

Yu Shimizu has over 20 years of experience in portfolio management and financial analysis, and over 10 years of experience in managing his Japanese Sustainable Equity Investment Strategy, with a strong track record of outperforming the broad Japanese equity market while achieving advanced integration of sustainability considerations. His strategy has attracted a wide range of investors, including European public pension, UCITS, US corporate pension fund, US university endowment and domestic retail mutual fund. Yu began his career in 1998 at Daiwa Securities Co., Ltd. He then worked at two Japanese asset management firms as an analyst until he joined SPARX Asset Management Co., Ltd. in 2005 as an analyst and gained experience under a variety of Japanese listed equity strategies including small & mid cap strategy and quality growth strategy. In 2012, he became a portfolio manager and launched his Japan Sustainable Equity Strategy for which he had been the lead portfolio manager until his departure. Yu grew up in Fukushima Prefecture, Japan. He graduated from Keio University with a B.A. in Law. Yu is a Certified Master Coach, a Chartered Member of the Security Analysts Association of Japan and a managing member of Japan Sustainable Investment Forum.