Masami Takizawa, co-head of Japan at Patrizia
Patrizia on Tuesday announced the appointment of Masami Takizawa and Thomas Hirschvogel as co-heads of Japan, effectively immediately, as the German real asset manager ramps up its expansion in Asia’s second-largest economy.
In their joint role, Takizawa and Hirschvogel will oversee Patrizia’s JPY 150 billion ($990 million) Japan investment platform and the operations of the Tokyo office, which has more than 10 staff across transactions, capital markets and asset management, according to a release. The Augsburg-based firm aims to grow its assets under management in Japan to JPY 300 billion by 2027 through its flagship real estate and infrastructure strategies.
Takizawa will act as Patrizia’s representative director in Japan and assume responsibility for transactions alongside her existing role as head of capital markets for the country. Hirschvogel will lead asset management and fund operations in Japan while continuing as regional head of Asia Pacific and fund manager for Patrizia’s Japan residential fund.
“We are very excited to appoint Masami and Thomas as our new co-heads of Japan to drive our growth in the market,” said Patrizia CEO Asoka Woehrmann. “The country is central to our global expansion strategy and a key market for capitalising on the major transition megatrends shaping our societies and communities.”
Power Pairing
Takizawa joined Patrizia in 2020 from JP Morgan Asset Management, where she served as an executive director and real estate investment specialist. Previously she held real estate roles at UBS Asset Management, Shinsei Bank and Societe Generale.
Thomas Hirschvogel, co-head of Japan and head of APAC at Patrizia
Hirschvogel joined Patrizia in 2017 from Brookfield Financial. Earlier he worked for a boutique investment bank focused on real assets, in particular property, power and infrastructure.
On Hirschvogel’s watch, Patrizia in 2022 launched a $1 billion Japan-focused fund to acquire core and value-add multi-family assets across the country’s top cities. The vehicle was seeded with four apartment buildings worth a combined JPY 7.5 billion.
Takizawa and Hirschvogel will continue to report to Konrad Finkenzeller, head of global client solutions and a member of the executive committee at Frankfurt-listed Patrizia, whose backers include founder Wolfgang Egger and German asset manager Union Investment.
Global Ambition
Japan is a core pillar of Patrizia’s global expansion ambition and a key market for attractive investment solutions in real assets, said the firm, which manages €9 billion ($9.7 billion) in assets for its clients based in Asia Pacific.
Patrizia is also actively deploying capital for its APAC Sustainable Infrastructure strategy, a joint venture with Mitsui & Co that is managed out of the firm’s Sydney office.
The JV partners announced a $110 million first closing of the infrastructure fund in early 2023, a milestone on the way to raising a targeted $1 billion to invest in sustainable assets across the region.
