Yoji Otani

Macquarie Capital Securities (Japan) Ltd. (MCS-J) is a securities brokerage firm and a wholly-owned subsidiary of Macquarie International Investments, which in turn is a subsidiary of Macquarie Bank Ltd. (SY: MBL), based in Australia. Established in 2004 following the acquisition of the Asian equity division of ING Groep NV (NYSE: ING) by Macquarie, MCS-J provides trading and financial analysis services to Japanese and overseas institutions as well as hedge funds. The firm specializes in Japanese equity, economic research, fundamental research at the company level, quantitative analysis, information on infrastructure funds and other funds, equity derivatives and structured products. They also act as intermediary for Macquarie Bank in the equity-linked notes private placement market. The firm's analysts research themes including Japanese reflation, global industries and Asian technologies. MCS-J is located in Tokyo, and operates in close cooperation with Macquarie sales teams in London, Geneva, Frankfurt, New York and Boston.

BofA Securities Japan Co., Ltd. (BofA Securities Japan) is the wholly-owned Japanese brokerage subsidiary of Merrill Lynch International, Inc., which is ultimately owned by Bank of America Corp. (NYSE: BAC). Founded in 1998, the firm was formerly known as Merrill Lynch Japan Securities Co., Ltd. (MLJS) and changed their name to BofA Securities Co., Ltd. in line with grobal re-branding from BofA Merrill Lynch to BofA in 2020. They subsequently became BofA Securities Japan Co., Ltd. Headquartered in Tokyo, BofA Securities Japan provides stock and bond trading, capital markets, investment banking and other advisory services to corporate clients, financial institutions and government agencies.

Nomura Securities Co., Ltd. (NSC) is a wholly-owned brokerage subsidiary of Nomura Holdings, Inc. (TSE: 8604; NYSE: NMR). Headquartered in Tokyo, the firm was founded in 1925. NSC places a strong emphasis on research, both fundamental and quantitative. In addition to stock and bond underwriting, their activities include IPO and M&A advisory, wealth management, separately managed accounts, fund wrap services, prime brokerage and structured equity finance. Their clients include institutions, hedge funds, private banks and private equity funds as well as corporate clients and retail investors.

MUFG Union Bank, NA (dba Union Bank) is a private banking firm headquartered in San Francisco, California. The firm was founded in 1953 and in 2021 they became a subsidiary of MUFG Americas Holdings Corp., ultimately held by Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Inc. (TYO: 8306) in Japan. Union Bank provides an array of financial services to wealthy individuals & families, executives, professional service firms, and mission-driven organizations.

MUFG Bank Ltd. engages in the business of financial services. It provides commercial banking, trust banking, securities, credit cards, consumer finance, asset management, leasing and others. The company was founded on August 15, 1919 and is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan.

Morgan Stanley MUFG Securities Co., Ltd. is the Japanese broker-dealer subsidiary of Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) in the US. Headquartered in Tokyo, the firm was founded in 1984 and provides investment banking, sales & trading, real estate and investment management products and services. It offers securities services including global sales and trading in fixed income and equities, debt and equities financing and investment research. The firm is a provider of products and services in fixed income, equities, global capital markets and investment research to corporations and institutional clients in Japan.

Lehman Brothers Holdings Plc provides finance and treasury management services. The company is headquartered in London, UK.

SMBC Nikko Securities, Inc. is the securities brokerage subsidiary of Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, Inc. (TYO: 8316) in Japan. Headquartered in Tokyo, the firm was founded in 2009 and provides stockbroking services to Japanese individuals and corporate clients.

Credit Suisse Securities Japan Ltd. (CSS Japan) is the Japanese securities brokerage subsidiary of Credit Suisse AG, which is owned by Credit Suisse Group AG (SWX: CSGN; NYSE: CS) in Switzerland. The firm was founded in 1985 as First Boston Securities Tokyo. It subsequently became CS First Boston Securities in 1989 and Credit Suisse First Boston in 1996. In 2006, they began operating as Credit Suisse Securities Japan Ltd. Headquartered in Tokyo, CSS Japan performs underwriting, research, sales and trading of government and corporate bonds, foreign exchange, securitized products and real estate-related assets for institutional clients, corporations and government bodies. In addition, the firm offers sales, trading, research, financing, prime brokerage and market-making in Japanese and international equity and equity-related securities, options, futures, risk management and hedging products.

Ninety One UK Ltd. is an asset management firm headquartered in London, UK. The firm was founded in 1986 and is a subsidiary of Ninety One UK Holdings Ltd. Ninety One UK provides discretionary investment management services to public and private pension plans, other institutional investors and domestic pooled investment vehicles. They also manage separate accounts for institutional investors.