Associate, Primaries (Asia)

PRIVATE EQUITY - PRIMARIES:

Our Global Primaries team invests in mid-market private equity fund managers with a proven track record of value creation — acquiring companies at reasonable valuations and enhancing their worth through operational improvement, stronger management and financial restructuring. Our localised, tailored primary fund investment products reinforce Capital Dynamics' brand across Asia, and reflect the trust and partnership we've built with fund managers (GPs) and institutional clients over decades.

THE OPPORTUNITY:

Capital Dynamics is hiring a Private Equity Associate to join our Primaries investment team in Tokyo, Japan. This is a genuine opportunity for a bilingual (Japanese / English) private equity professional to build a career across primary fund investment, GP relationship management, due diligence and Asia-Pacific fundraising — reporting directly to our Director, Primaries, and working within a small, senior, highly experienced team.

Beyond core Primaries work, you'll gain exposure across the wider platform: supporting our Co-Investment and Secondaries teams on Asian transactions, contributing to the administration of a Japan PE separately managed account (SMA) for a Japanese pension fund, and engaging directly with regulatory matters relating to Capital Dynamics' Japan Discretionary Investment Management (DIM) license. Few Associate-level seats in private equity offer this breadth of exposure this early in a career.

LANGUAGE REQUIREMENT — ESSENTIAL

This role requires native-level Japanese and fluent English.

You'll work daily with Japanese GPs, institutional investors and regulators, alongside our English-speaking global Primaries, Co-Investment and Secondaries teams — genuine bilingual fluency in both languages is a day-to-day requirement of the role, not a preference.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES:

Primary Fund Investment (Asia)

• Source private equity fund investment opportunities, conduct due diligence and monitoring/reporting, and build strong relationships with GPs across the Asia-Pacific region.
• Lead due diligence processes and present findings at Investment Management (IM) and Investment Committee (IC) meetings.
• Monitor existing fund investments, including regular GP meetings and attendance at Annual General Meetings (AGMs).
• Prepare reporting on existing Asian private equity funds.
• Attend client calls and support fundraising activities for private equity products across Japan and wider Asia.
• Provide occasional support to the US and Europe Primaries teams.

Japan Investment Management Administration

• Support fund operations for a Japan private equity SMA managed on behalf of a Japanese pension fund, including cash management, accounting and audit coordination with outsourcing partners.
• Support marketing and decision-making processes relating to Capital Dynamics' Japan Discretionary Investment Management (DIM) license.
• Support reporting to regulators and industry bodies on matters relating to the Japan DIM license.
• Coordinate the quarterly management fee invoicing process for a Japanese institutional investor mandate, working with the Finance team.

Supporting Co-Investment & Secondaries (Asia)

• Source investment opportunities and maintain strong GP relationships in support of the Co-Investment and Secondaries teams.
• Support due diligence processes for Co-Investment and Secondaries transactions.
• Support monitoring of existing co-investment and secondaries positions, including meetings with portfolio companies and GPs.

WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR:

Experience

• 2+ years' experience in private equity fund investment, at an institutional investor or asset management firm.
• Genuine familiarity with primary fund investment, GP due diligence and portfolio monitoring in a private equity context.

Education & Qualifications

• Strong academic background, with at least a college degree; a Master's degree in Business is an advantage.
• Proficiency in MS Excel, Word and PowerPoint.

Languages

• Essential — Native-level Japanese and fluent English.

Skills & Attributes

• Strong project management and presentation skills, combined with the ability to multi-task across concurrent workstreams.
• Highly developed verbal and written communication skills — articulate, balanced and persuasive.
• Comfortable working cooperatively in a small team as part of a large global organisation, in a genuinely entrepreneurial environment.
• Strong organisational skills and exceptional attention to detail.