T. Rowe Price has partnered with Rakuten Securities to enable retail investors in Japan to gain exposure to US equities.

Under the partnership, the US asset manager’s US structured research equity strategy will be available on Rakuten’s online distribution platform as a public investment trust fund ( ITM ) from June 13.

The US equity strategy leverages the stock selection skills of T. Rowe Price’s research platform. Since its inception over 25 years ago, the strategy has employed a bottom-up approach to security selection, applying sound risk oversight and portfolio construction principles to navigate various market environments.

The strategy’s actively managed portfolio typically holds 200-275 positions, with stock selection based purely on the fundamental insights of about 30 analysts from the firm’s US equity research team. The portfolio’s sector, industry, and style exposures are designed to be similar to those of the S&P 500 Index, with stock selection expected to be the primary source of excess returns.

“The rapid growth in online investment accounts [in Japan] highlights a significant shift in how Japanese investors are engaging with the market. Furthermore, the expansion of the Nippon Individual Savings Account ( Nisa ) and the introduction of iDeCo ( Individual-type Defined Contribution Plan ) have made investing more accessible, encouraging more individuals to invest for wealth building,” says Naoyuki Honda, country head of T. Rowe Price Japan.

“By partnering with Rakuten Securities, we are able to leverage their innovative and user-friendly platform to reach a new generation of tech-savvy investors seeking diversified and long-term investment opportunities in Japan."

T. Rowe Price has established a presence in Japan since 1982 and became a locally incorporated company in April 2018, enhancing its ability to serve the market. The firm has successfully launched seven ITMs in Japan, making the partnership with Rakuten its eighth.