Dalton Strategic Partnership, the global investment management firm, has created a new Tokyo-based subsidiary called Dalton Capital (Japan) to house its Japanese equity managers.

The Japan Advantage team, which is headed by Akira Yoshimi and is responsible for the Melchior Japan Advantage Funds, will leave its current business, FuNNeX Asset Management, and move to Dalton Capital (Japan) at the end of April.

The firm said that all Japan Advantage assets - including the Melchior funds (the brand name of Dalton’s funds) - and segregated accounts, will move with the team to the new entity in Tokyo.

Dalton Capital (Japan) will be led by Kosuke Arao, who in his former role as a portfolio manager at Mercury Asset Management worked closely with the founding partners of Dalton Strategic Partners and FuNNeX Asset Management.

Arao has 33 years of experience in investment management and broking, during which time he has served as head of equities at Mizuho Securities and as chief executive at T&D Asset Management.

Dalton Strategic Partnership has $2.03 billion in assets under management, as at end-July 2012. The firm has three core units: an absolute return business; a long-only investment management business; and a wealth management business.