By Anton Bridge and Miho Uranaka
TOKYO (Reuters) -The financial advisory joint venture of the securities arms of Mizuho Financial Group and Rakuten Group is aiming to reach 50 billion yen ($357 million) in customer assets in its first five years of operations, its chief executive said.
The venture is tapping into growing demand for wealth management services in Japan as inflation eats into savings and the government encourages investment of household assets, of which around half lie in cash and deposits.
Recent market volatility has also helped attract customers, Mirai Wealth Partners chief executive Masaki Shindo told Reuters in an interview.
Mirai, which was established a year ago with Mizuho Securities holding a 95% stake and Rakuten Securities the remaining 5%, managed 3.5 billion yen of customer assets as of mid-April.
Volatile moves in Japanese assets following the announcement of tariffs by U.S. President Donald Trump this month and in August last year have brought in many clients who until now invested independently through Rakuten Securities’ online accounts, Shindo said.
“We’re seeing more and more consultations from customers who had been investing in stocks and index funds and are now wondering whether their investments are safe given current trends,” he said.
Online consultations make up 70% of the total, and are popular even among customers aged over 60, Shindo said.
Mirai has five financial advisers, up from three last year, and plans to hire more staff over the next year as the assets it manages grow, Shindo said.
($1 = 139.9800 yen)
(Reporting by Anton Bridge and Miho Uranaka; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman)
