Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities (MUMSS) has announced a plan to increase assets under management for its retail client base by 10 trillion yen over the medium to long term, its president, Hiroyuki Seki, said in an interview. The target equates to roughly $62 billion at an exchange rate of $1 = 160.4100 yen.
The securities and investment banking joint venture - a partnership between Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group and Morgan Stanley - is also preparing to beef up its distribution capabilities. Seki said the firm intends to add several hundred sales staff to support the push to gather more retail wealth assets.
As of the end of March, MUMSS reported assets under management of 55.9 trillion yen. The announced plan aims to grow that retail-managed pool by about 10 trillion yen over the stated timeframe.
Seki framed the target in the context of shifting saver behavior in Japan. He said the end of deflation and the rise in interest rates are encouraging household savers to move money out of cash allocations and into investments that can provide higher yields. The firm sees this environment as an opportunity to expand its wealth management franchise.
Fees generated from asset management have already contributed to profit growth across Japan's financial sector, Seki noted. To capture more of the retail market, MUMSS plans both deeper engagement with existing corporate clients - focusing on employee and executive relationships - and an expansion of the product set available to retail customers.
Part of the product expansion will include lending secured by a broader range of client assets. At present, the firm provides loans backed by equity holdings; the strategy calls for extending collateral options to encompass additional asset types.
The combination of AUM growth targets, a larger salesforce and a broadened lending proposition reflects MUMSS's approach to scale its retail wealth business while leveraging ties with corporate clients. The firm did not disclose a precise timeline beyond the medium- to long-term horizon for the 10 trillion yen objective.
Context and implications
The plan is centered on three threads: accelerating retail asset inflows, increasing distribution capacity, and widening product and lending capabilities. The firm’s current AUM baseline, the stated growth target, and the planned staff additions are the concrete elements disclosed by Seki.