e-fundresearch.com: Why should investors consider an increase in allocation to your asset class in 2015?
Yuichi Alex Takayama: We believe that the Japanese equity market is changing. More importantly, the nature of the change is specific to Japan which might provide investors with very unique investment opportunities.
Japanese companies have in the past been seen to be unfriendly towards its shareholders as the main source of their finance has traditionally been bank loans. It took some time to recognize that the low levels of ROE, which was the result of the attitude mentioned above, was the main cause of the sluggish equity market in the previous 20 plus years. After finally realising the problem, a series of measures, such as the introduction of the JPX400, the Japanese version of the Stewardship Code, and the Corporate Governance Code, were swiftly implemented. The reform of the GPIF, the world’s largest pension fund, was another initiative. In addition, we expect there will be more measures to come.
We believe this series of subtle but continuous measures could result in positive changes in the mindset of Japanese corporations and the asset management industry, which in turn may create a better investment environment for investors.
Hinweis: Yuichi Alex Takayama (General Manager) von Tokio Marine Asset Management ist Speaker beim ARC Outlook 2015 am 21. Jänner in Wien
