Zennor seeks opportunities in Japan catalysed by the corporate governance revolution, offered through two long-only equity strategies.
Founded in 2020
Strategies
Japan Equity
The experienced team of stock-picking fund managers leverage their extensive network in Japan to help uncover under-researched companies across the market capitalisation spectrum, often finding the most promising opportunities in smaller companies. The strategy aims to generate capital growth by investing in shares that trade below intrinsic value and offer upside potential triggered by a catalyst.
Japan Equity Income
Capitalising on the ongoing governance revolution in Japan, this dividend-focused strategy aims to deliver a meaningful and growing level of income, together with capital growth. The managers draw on their extensive local networks in Japan built up over more than two decades. They identify opportunities amid accelerating corporate change – finding companies in rude health that have the potential to return capital to shareholders by way of dividends and share buybacks.
- UK Domiciled OEIC
Japan Himawari
A high-conviction, benchmark-agnostic and style-unconstrained strategy focused on the top 350 companies in Japan. The managers target long-term capital growth by investing in a segment of the market rich in operationally strong businesses, where misallocated capital, under-optimised balance sheets and limited market scrutiny create scope for change. The dynamic investment process combines on-the-ground insight, cultural understanding and bottom-up research to identify inflection points before they are fully recognised by the market.
- Luxembourg Domiciled UCITS
About Zennor
About Zennor
Zennor Asset Management is an independent, employee-owned boutique specialising in Japanese equities. Founded in 2020 by fund manager James Salter, the firm launched its inaugural fund, the IUP Zennor Japan Fund, in February 2021. This has since been followed by the WS Japan Equity Income Fund in 2023, the Japan Special Situations Fund in 2024 and, most recently, the IUP Zennor Japan Himawari Fund in June 2026.
The investment team draws on decades of experience and more than 30,000 company meetings, applying a benchmark-agnostic, bottom-up approach to identify mispriced intrinsic value with a clear path to realisation.
- Independent fund manager based in London
- Four funds spanning the market-cap spectrum: IUP Zennor Japan Fund (2021), WS Japan Equity Income Fund (2023), Japan Special Situations Fund (2024) and IUP Zennor Japan Himawari Fund (2026)
- Deliberately capacity aware to protect performance and remain fully aligned with clients
Committed to ESG
Committed to ESG
Integration, engagement and stewardship are guiding principles for Zennor – as a result, material ESG factors are incorporated into traditional fundamental analysis, risk management and portfolio construction.
Zennor's overarching investment thesis is to benefit from the corporate governance revolution in Japan, which by its very nature includes engaging with portfolio companies to position corporate strategy towards long-term value creation. Subsequently, such dialogue is consistent with good stewardship and sustainability.
The Japanese market is about the direction and pace of change, rather than the absolute level – and Zennor’s guiding principle is not to let the best become the enemy of the good. However, where engagements with investee companies on ESG matters have more specific objectives, they will often follow with a formal letter as "letters, perhaps especially in Japan, carry weight”.*
*Zennor Sustainability Approach
Sustainability at Zennor
A majority employee-owned business with a flat management structure, Zennor is committed to building long-lasting partnerships with several charity organisations.
Zennor is a signatory of the UN PRI, the Japan Stewardship Code and a member of The Board Director Training Institute of Japan and the AGGA (Asian Corporate Governance Association).
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