The fund management firm has acquired a team of Japan specialists, seeking to take advantage of what it says are unrealised opportunities in the Asian economy.

Martin Currie, the UK investment firm owned by US-listed Legg Mason, has acquired a team running the Cayman-domiciled RIT PK Japan Fund, with $167 million of assets.

The team includes Paul Kirkby, who is chief executive of PK Investment Management. As part of the transaction and subject to approval by regulators, Kirkby will lead the Martin Currie Japan long/short investment proposition. He is joined by his current co-manager Paul Smith as well as incumbent manager Claire Marwick.

As a result of a combination of resources, this team will manage $425 million of assets, Martin Currie said in a statement yesterday.

“It has long been our belief that, due to the cyclical opportunities and inefficiencies of the Japanese market, that an actively managed long/short approach is one of the most attractive ways for investors to benefit from the breadth of the market, the liquidity available yet protect during any times of high volatility,” Martin Currie said.

Kirkby has a reputation in the field of managing Japanese assets; his team was nominated for the AsiaHedge Awards for best Japan Fund in 2005, 2009, 2012 and again in 2015, Martin Currie said.