The Swiss bank is the majority stakeholder in the JV with a 51% stake, with Sumitomo Mitsui owning the remainder. Credit: Roméo A. on Unsplash

A wealth management joint venture (JV) between UBS and Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings has commenced operations in Japan.

Named UBS SuMi TRUST Wealth Management, the new entity is said to be the first in Japan to pair global securities and wealth management capabilities alongside the custody, real estate, inheritance, and wealth transfer know-how of a Japanese trust banking group.

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Operating in Tokyo, Osaka, as well as Nagoya, the entity launched with a capital of JPY5.1bn.

The Swiss bank is the majority stakeholder in the JV with a 51% stake, with Sumitomo Mitsui owning the remainder.

The two parties announced plans to launch the JV in June 2019.

They soon set up a consultation and event organising business to identify prospective customers and cross-sell offerings.

The duo also worked alongside structuring and licensing the new JV to enable it to offer a wide portfolio of benefits to Japan’s high net worth and ultra-high net worth clients.

UBS head of wealth management efforts in Japan and president and representative director of the new firm Victor Chang said: “No other wealth manager in Japan boasts the same breadth and depth of our services, not to mention global reach.

“We are convinced that the legacy clients of UBS and SMTH, as well as an enormous market of untapped wealthy individuals, will place considerable value on this unique service portfolio.”

Other Japan moves 

Japan has lured various financial groups off late.

Last month, Nikkei Asia reported that Goldman Sachs will expand investments in alternative assets in Japan, consolidating multiple investment operations into a new merchant banking unit.

In the same month, BlackRock upgraded Japanese stocks to neutral, expecting them to perform on par with their peers in other markets.

“We upgrade Japanese equities to neutral. We see a global cyclical rebound helping boost earnings growth in the second half of the year. The country’s virus dynamics are also improving,” the firm stated in a report seen by CNBC.