Takashi Saruta
Representative Director,
President and CEO
Actively navigating Japan and wider Asian markets to deliver solutions to our clients worldwide
Currently, deepening divisions in many parts of the world are causing concerns over geopolitical risk. Monetary policy has dramatically shifted from accommodative to tightening in order to curb inflation. Stock market rallies have currently paused. Yet, regardless of the market environment, we, as an asset management firm, owe the fiduciary responsibility to properly manage investor money.
In addition, we believe that it is essential for us to make upfront investments for the future, thereby advancing our existing investment capability and developing new expertise in new areas.
As an active investment management firm headquartered in Tokyo with multiple investment offices across Asia, we pride ourselves in our experienced investment professionals with expertise in a wide range of asset classes. We know that investing in countries and regions with large capital markets is essential, and, as an active manager, we have invested our capital to gain a footing in large asset management industries such as the U.S., Europe, and China.
We are proud of the fact that as far back as 2005, we established a Shanghai representative office in order to conduct research activities in mainland China. In 2022, we established a wholly owned subsidiary in the city, and the company was successfully registered as a private fund manager in September 2023. We will continue to provide asset management services as a company with on-the-ground presence in China. The country’s equity market has continued to grow and has more than tripled in size over the past ten years. In addition, the Chinese mutual fund market has grown approximately eight times over the same period. It is highly likely to continue this growth trend, and we expect that investment needs will continue to expand over the medium to long term. Although we anticipate various risks, we also believe that one of the duties of an active investment management company is to provide investors with diverse investment options.
Many Japanese investment managers use index investing for their primary products. While index investing should be valued as a useful investment technique, if a company focuses too much on index investing, this might have an adverse effect on its active investment capability. This is because cost-conscious management optimised for index investing makes it difficult to secure sufficient human resources and to make upfront investments in the active investment area. Differentiating ourselves from these companies that centre around index investing, we will continue to develop our core business through active management.
In Japanese equities, where we are confident in our long track record of success and our relative competitiveness, the Nikkei 225 continues to hover above 30,000 yen, the highest level in 33 years. We anticipate more new highs due to continued improvement in corporate governance, which has long been an area for progress, coupled with strong corporate earnings. The Tokyo Stock Exchange has also requested companies with P/B ratio below 1x to disclose and implement management reform, which has attracted attention not only from domestic investors but also from a wide range of foreign investors.
In Japan, under the Asset Income Doubling Plan proposed by the Kishida administration in 2022, the NISA (Japanese version of Individual Saving Account) investment limit will be increased from 2024. In addition, a policy for reform to make Japan an "asset management nation" was announced in June of this year. We are pleased, hopeful and looking forward to see Japan continue to move toward making asset management a mainstay of its financial sector. We will continue to devote ourselves as an active asset management firm with roots in Japan and wider Asia that can meet the expectations of our clients around the world.
Our door is always open to receive new enquiries from those wishing to utilise our investing expertise and we welcome you getting in touch with us.
November 2023
