As one of the world's biggest investors in hedge funds, it is Raymond Nolte's job to find traders who can navigate even the toughest markets. Right now, he trusts nobody to do that in Japan.
The chief investment officer of SkyBridge Capital has zero exposure to Japan-focused hedge funds, saying that unprecedented monetary stimulus has made the nation's debt and equity markets too distorted to manage. For Nolte, the situation in Japan is an extreme version of what is happening around the world as central banks use unconventional measures to spur economic growth.
"The current environment for Japanese assets is very difficult to manage with any certainty," Nolte said by email. He helps oversee about $13 billion at SkyBridge in New York and is chairman of the firm's manager selection committee.