Japanese funds model under threat

Fund houses in Japan are readying for a rise in the number of regulatory inspections and a tightening of laws, as a result of both the AIJ pensions scandal that broke in February and a crackdown on insider trading. “The Japanese regulators will be seeking to tighten manager access to pension fund monies,” says Chris Wells, financial services partner in law firm White & Case’s Tokyo office. “One shake-out from AIJ is that inspections of money managed offshore will focus incre…