KAMAKURA, Japan, Dec 8 (Reuters) - In a post global financial crisis world, it may be fitting that the first fund to be launched by a new Japanese asset firm in a year paints itself as an antidote to unfettered Western-style capitalism.
Kamakura Investment Management, set by up former fund managers of Barclays Global Investors, is looking to invest in small and mid-sized niche domestic firms that focus on the environment and markets its investment strategy as one that offers long-term "harmony" with society.
"We don't want to think about investments that conclude in our generation. We want to think about the next generation when we make our investments," Yasuyuki Kamata, president of the fund company told Reuters in an interview on Tuesday.
His firm is unusual in several ways, including its location in Kamakura, briefly an ancient capital of Japan and now more known as a tourist destination. Kamakura is about 50 kilometres south-west of Tokyo where most asset managers are based.
The firm's high-tech sound-proofed dealing room is lined with tatami mats and overlooks a traditional Japanese garden.
"Investors will feel good if they know their money was being invested in firms that had meaning to society, in firms that are making a good contribution to the society. We want to be a mediator in the building of such a money flow cycle," Kamata said.
The firm plans to offer mutual funds or "toushin" by March and hopes to boost the value of assets under mangement to 10 billion yen ($112 million) in three years by actively investing in Japanese shares.
The fund wants to invest in about 100 Japanese companies over the long-term, including unlisted firms, Kamata said.
Kamata was formerly a representative director and a deputy president at BGI Japan Trust and Banking. He was also a fund and portfolio manager in the company.
Kamata and three other members, who also formerly worked for BGI, set up Kamakura Investment in November 2008. ($1=89.34 yen) (Reporting by Michiko Iwasaki and Chikafumi Hodo; Editing by Edwina Gibbs)