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Hertz Lichtenstein & Young
Hahm family office HLY bridges Korean entertainment capital and California real estate across seven offices in the US and Asia.
Hertz Lichtenstein & Young
HLY operates as the private investment office for the Hahm family, with roots stretching from Seoul's entertainment and media industry into Southern California commercial real estate. The firm has maintained an unusually low profile for an entity with offices in Los Angeles, Pasadena, San Mateo, Diamond Bar, Seoul, Shanghai, and Shenzhen — a geographic footprint that mirrors the financial flows between Korean cultural exports, Chinese manufacturing ecosystems, and US consumer markets. Public records tie the office to both property holdings and entertainment-related vehicles, though the family has not disclosed the full origin of its wealth. The firm's investment posture blends real estate acquisition in key California submarkets with strategic exposure to media and entertainment assets — a dual-track approach that leverages the family's cross-border relationships in the Korean Wave (Hallyu) economy. Confirmed and reported areas of activity include commercial property in the San Gabriel Valley, luxury-brand partnerships, and consumer-facing ventures in both the US and Asia. The office appears to deploy capital primarily through direct equity positions and real property holdings rather than through a traditional fund-of-funds model, with a long-hold orientation common among Asian family offices protecting intergenerational capital. HLY's scale remains opaque, as the office does not publish AUM figures or team headcount. The presence of multiple offices — particularly in Shanghai and Shenzhen — suggests a staffing footprint sufficient to monitor cross-border deal flow in real time, but no central directory of professionals is publicly available. The firm is not known to participate in Tiger 21, R360, YPO, or other disclosed peer networks. In September 2023, HLY filed as the administrative agent for a commercial real estate financing entity in California, a transaction that underscores its active role in West Coast property capital structures (per public California Secretary of State records, December 2023). What distinguishes HLY is its bilateral structure: a US real estate operating core paired with an Asian entertainment and consumer sourcing pipeline. Unlike single-family offices that consolidate management under one geography and asset class, HLY functions as two cultural hemispheres sharing a balance sheet — one rooted in California tangible assets, the other in Korean soft-power industries. This architecture mirrors the Hahm family's own biographical geography, and it means the office's deal funnel runs on relationships that predate the current institutional LP appetite for K-content and cross-Pacific media finance.
General information
Firm type
Single Family Office
Year founded
—
AUM
Undisclosed
Location
Region
North America
Country
United States
City
Los Angeles
Corporate office
Los Angeles, CA, United States
Additional offices
Pasadena, CA · San Mateo, CA · Diamond Bar, CA · Seoul, South Korea · Shanghai, China · Shenzhen, China
Sector focus
Frequently asked questions
Who runs investment decisions at HLY?
The firm's principals are not publicly identified. HLY operates behind a degree of privacy common among Asian family offices that manage intergenerational wealth. Investment decisions likely flow through the Hahm family directly, with operational support from its multi-city office network. No CIO, CEO, or managing partner has been named in public filings or media coverage.
What is HLY's known investment posture on co-investments?
HLY does not publicly solicit co-investment partners. Its real estate activity suggests a preference for direct control through entity-level ownership and administrative roles, as evidenced by its 2023 filing as an administrative agent for a California real estate financing vehicle. There is no indication the firm participates in club deals or fund commitments alongside external GPs.
How is HLY structured across its US and Asia offices?
The office's seven locations — four in California, plus Seoul, Shanghai, and Shenzhen — imply a dual-hemisphere operating model. The US offices (Los Angeles, Pasadena, San Mateo, Diamond Bar) anchor real estate and administrative functions, while the Asia offices likely handle sourcing, partner relations, and family wealth management. This geographic split mirrors the broader cross-Pacific architecture of Korean family capital with US hard-asset exposure.
Which sectors does HLY focus on?
Public records tie HLY to real estate, media and entertainment, and consumer-facing ventures. The entertainment connection is significant given the Hahm family's Korean roots and the global expansion of K-pop, Korean cinema, and Korean luxury-brand influence — industries where family-connected capital has historically played a quiet role. The firm has not, however, published a formal sector mandate or exclusion list.
Where does the underlying wealth come from?
The origin of Hahm family wealth has not been publicly disclosed. The firm's geographic and sector footprint suggests ties to Korean media, entertainment, and possibly manufacturing or real estate development. The name 'Hertz Lichtenstein & Young' is a professional-services style branding, not indicative of multiple family branches, and the office appears to serve a single-family entity rather than external clients.
Profile maintained by Altss using OSINT (open-source intelligence), regulatory filings, licensed data partners, and verified direct submissions. Read the methodology. Last updated: . Continuous refresh with full update cycles at least every 30 days.
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