TOKYO — AsianInvestor has recognised Nikko Asset Management (Nikko AM) as Japan’s 2017 Fund House of the Year for generating strong returns in Japan’s negative interest rate environment. This is the sixth time in seven years that the firm has won the award[1]. Nikko AM’s actively managed Japanese equity strategies demonstrated a record of investment excellence that drove growth in assets under management (AUM) throughout 2016.
“The Bank of Japan’s negative interest rate policy provided new challenges for investors in 2016,” said Hiroki Tsujimura, Chief Investment Officer – Japan. “We believe one of our core competitive advantages is the progressive nature of our investment solutions. Performance has been outstanding across a breadth of different styles and market cycles, with 11 out of our 15 major Japanese equity strategies ranked in the top quartile among peers over a five year period.”
In response to the Bank of Japan’s introduction of negative interest rates, the Tokyo-headquartered asset manager offered a series of U.S. and European fixed income products managed by the firm’s London-based Global Fixed Income Team. In fiscal 2016, the firm’s Japanese institutional business saw net inflows of JPY 932 billion, placing it second in Japan for the private placement of funds[2].
AsianInvestor also recognised Nikko AM’s success in growing assets under management by nearly 8 percent to JPY 19.93 trillion (USD 170.9 billion) by December 2016 from a year prior. Its ETF assets also jumped 29 percent year-over-year to more than JPY 4 trillion (USD 34.4 billion) over the same period. Nikko AM is the only Asia-based asset manager to have received an A+ in the governance category for Japanese equities from PRI.
Further details on the awards can be found at the AsianInvestor website:
http://www.asianinvestor.net/category/awards/190
[1] This award is based on past performance and does not guarantee future investment performance.
[2] As of December 31 2016.