Nomura Asset Management to advise on new US Japan equity ETF

Nomura Asset Management Co., Ltd. (Nomura AM) said its Japan Equity team will provide investment advice for the Japan Equity Active ETF, an actively managed exchange-traded fund (ETF) domiciled in the United States that invests in Japanese equities. Nomura Asset Management International sponsors the fund, which started trading in the US on November 12.

How Nomura AM will support the fund

Using its own research and analytical tools, Nomura AM will study Japanese equities and help build the portfolio. The fund will be managed with the same investment processes and analytical methods the firm applies to institutional clients.

The arrangement pairs that advisory work with the nationwide US distribution network of Nomura Asset Management International. Together, the two will offer the ETF to institutional and individual investors in the United States.

Nomura Group set up Nomura Asset Management International in 2025 to strengthen its asset management platform in the US market. Nomura AM and that unit are working to combine their product and investment strengths to meet the asset management needs of institutional and individual investors around the world.

Project BRIDGE and Japanese companies

Nomura AM launched Project BRIDGE in March 2022 to show investors worldwide what Japanese companies can offer. Through its Japan equity strategies, the firm promotes Japanese stocks abroad. It is also expanding its stewardship activities, learning more about portfolio companies' business environments and strategies and seeking to raise their corporate value through constructive dialogue.

The firm says it aims to close the gap between market valuations and the underlying potential of Japanese companies. It also wants to connect global investors with those companies and strengthen Japan's role as an international capital market.

The Japanese government is advancing its Policy Plan for Promoting Japan as a Leading Asset Management Center and calling for further improvements to the asset management business. Nomura AM said it will keep working to serve clients as a global asset manager with roots in Japan.