“When it comes to mutual funds by Vanguard, they’re basically limited to those provided through Saison, so their market share is really not significant,” said Hiroaki Sakamoto, an analyst at fund research company Morningstar Japan K.K. in Tokyo. “The place where they have an overwhelming presence is the U.S. They’re far from that in Japan.”
In one attempt to expand in Japan, Vanguard formed a partnership last year to sell its funds through the asset management arm of Internet giant Rakuten Inc. Vanguard is open to working with more local partners, Kim said. He declined to give further details on how many additional staff Vanguard Japan has hired.
Vanguard’s move comes as the Japanese government seeks to get people to shift more of their $8.8 trillion held in cash and deposit accounts that pay virtually no interest into the stock market. The country’s powerful financial regulator has been critical of expensive funds, which he says aren’t helping to build a culture of long-term investing.
“We feel like we can be relevant here,” Kim said of his company’s planned expansion. “Vanguard can help introduce that low-cost mindset.”
This article was provided by Bloomberg News.