Hiroyuki Mochizuki, head of Japan at PIMCO Prime Real Estate
PIMCO Prime Real Estate has become the latest fund manager to add to its Japan team with the hiring of Hiroyuki Mochizuki as country head.
Mochizuki has more than 20 years of professional experience in the real estate industry in Japan and the US, according to PIMCO Prime, a real estate investment arm of German insurance giant Allianz.
He succeeds Daisuke Noguchi, who served as head of Japan for the company then known as Allianz Real Estate until December 2022 before joining regional apartment specialist Weave Living last April. Allianz Real Estate rebranded as PIMCO Prime Real Estate in March of last year.
Mochizuki’s appointment took effect on the first of this month. He will be based in Tokyo and report to Scott Kim, PIMCO Prime’s head of Asia Pacific.
Investment Lull
Mochizuki most recently served as alternative investment director at Japan’s Government Pension Investment Fund.
PIMCO Prime Real Estate CEO Francois Trausch
Before joining GPIF, he spent 17 years at Mitsui Fudosan, where he held roles in Japan (as project manager in the solution service group) and in the US (as acquisition director).
Mochizuki is bilingual in English and Japanese and holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from Osaka University.
News of his appointment comes as PIMCO Prime has slowed its Asia Pacific investment after a regional ramp-up under Allianz Real Estate’s former APAC boss Rushabh Desai. The company initiated asset sales last year despite bringing on board Kim, the former head of real estate investment at Korea’s National Pension Service, in May 2022 as Desai’s replacement.
The fund manager has not made any known acquisitions in Asia Pacific since its purchase of a portfolio of 12 residential assets in Tokyo for $90 million in March 2022, the same month as Desai’s departure.
Team-Building Exercises
PIMCO Prime’s people move took place the same week that fellow German investor Patrizia named Masami Takizawa and Thomas Hirschvogel as co-heads of Japan.
In their joint role, Takizawa and Hirschvogel will oversee Patrizia’s JPY 150 billion ($990 million) Japan investment platform and the operations of the Tokyo office, which has more than 10 staff across transactions, capital markets and asset management.
The Augsburg-based firm aims to grow its assets under management in Japan to JPY 300 billion by 2027 through its flagship real estate and infrastructure strategies.
NYSE-listed Ares Management announced in December that it planned to establish an office in Japan this year, as the California firm looks to explore real estate and buyout opportunities in the country.