In the 1980s when Max was in his mid-20's living in Tokyo, he read Milton Friedman's Free to Choose and Capitalism and Freedom . He was highly inspired. Then two things he decided to do were to quit being an auditor and start his own business in America. Max, as needed, sold all the stocks he owned, and with a tiny bit of money in his pocket, he came to America in the late '80s. 

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Max's solid disciplines gained through 30+ years of experience in the broad financial sector makes him well-versed in understanding multi-dimensional issues within both liquid and illiquid investments, investment management, and operations, due diligence for cross border investment deals, international tax planning, and forensic accounting. 

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Prior to founding his own buy-side investment firm in 2004, he spent 11 years in the fund of hedge funds (FoHF) business, as Vice President with then $5 billion assets under management at Glenwood Capital Investments and as Co-Head for $2 billion Nikko Securities' Managed Fund Group, being responsible for planning, designing, marketing, and implementing FoHF strategies.

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Prior to 1993, Max worked for Coopers & Lybrand (now a part of PricewaterhouseCoopers) for about 10 years as an Auditor in Japan and then as Senior Manager in Chicago in charge of Finance/Real Estate, where he developed a model used to identify potential accounting irregularities.

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Today, while Saratoga tries not to grow too much too soon, rather focusing on investment performance and operations, Saratoga as a private investor and a fiduciary manages approximately $300 million in assets, primarily focusing on commercial real estate and hard-money lending businesses. Saratoga provides hands-on and transparent investment management and reporting throughout the entire investment cycle. 

 

Max built Saratoga on the premise through a solid fiduciary duty and forward-looking, value-driven investment philosophy. The belief that there are meaningful sizable pricing inefficiencies to exploit in thinly traded, illiquid, and informationally inefficient market spaces.

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Max is also the founder of Hoshino Foundation, Internal Revenue Code 501(c)3 charitable foundation. He supports and donates his personal funds to Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center in support for the Chiune Sugihara Exhibition, as well as The Aspen Institute in support for Energy and Environment Program.

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Max currently lives in Chicago, Illinois; Aspen, Colorado; and Tokyo, Japan. Outside of businesses, Max is an avid snow skier. He also enjoys live music, reading, cooking, wine/sake-tasting, and traveling.

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Education

Harvard University, Cambridge MA; MPA, Finance/Public Policy, 1990

Keio University, Tokyo Japan; BA, Business/Economics, 1979

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Licenses & Certifications

CFA (Credential ID: 236996); Member of The CFA Institute, Chicago CFA Society

CPA (Credential ID: 9429); Member JICPA

Illinois Real Estate Broker (Credential ID: IL475.156093)

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