Dialogue 03

Dialogue 03
Contributions to the Happiness of All Customers
through Cumulative Investments

Asumi Kantake
Representative Director and CEO
tsumiki Securities Co., Ltd.

Ms. Asumi Kantake joined MARUI GROUP in 1997. After transferringfrom a store position to the Accounting Department, she was later
involved in the establishment of management and business plans incorporate planning and finance divisions. In 2014, Ms. Kantake wasappointed as the deputy store manager of Kokubunji Marui and wasalso put in charge of engagement with investors as the chief managerof the Investor Relations Department. She became the representative
director and CEO of what is now tsumiki Securities in February 2018.

Takeo Nakaki
Representative Director and COO
tsumiki Securities Co., Ltd.

Mr. Takeo Nakaki joined The Mitsubishi Trust and Banking Corporation­(currently Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking Corporation) in 2001
and transferred to a foreign life insurance company before entering
Sawakami Asset Management Inc. in 2004. At Sawakami, Mr. Nakakirose to the ranks of vice president, a position in which he was responsible for promoting long-term investment across Japan. He became president of Union Asset Management Inc. in 2014 before taking up theposition of representative director and COO of what is now tsumiki
Securities in June 2018.

Contributions to the Happiness of All Customers
through Cumulative Investments
MARUI GROUP established tsumiki Securities as a securities company specializing in cumulative
investment with the aim of addressing the needs of customers harboring concerns for the future
pertaining to money or seeking to increase their assets with peace of mind.
The following is a discussion between the CEO and COO of tsumiki Securities, which commenced
services in August 2018, in which they express their resolutions for this company going forward.

Asumi Kantake

Takeo Nakaki

Representative Director and CEO
tsumiki Securities Co., Ltd.

Representative Director and COO
tsumiki Securities Co., Ltd.

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Reason for MARUI GROUP’s Entry
into the Securities Business    
Kantake: MARUI GROUP is motivated by its mission ofpromoting financial inclusion by providing financial services that can be used by everyone, regardless of theirage or income. This was the reason behind our entry into
the securities business.
Nakaki: When I first met President Aoi, he explained how
MARUI GROUP had long been developing a credit card
services business in which the Company built creditability together with young adults and others who had not
yet established their own credit ratings. He also
expressed his desire to provide asset building services
that transform the concerns that younger generations
have for the future into hope. This dedication to thesecurities business filled me with excitement. I spent
15 years at independent fund management companies,
during which I attended seminars across Japan to network with long-term investors and speak with fellow fundmanagers. Colleagues that had begun gradual, long-term
investment exhibited a clear sense of leeway as they had
less concern for the future and felt they had access to agreater range of options in their life.

Kantake: Roughly half of MARUI GROUP’s customers arein their twenties or thirties, and around 70% of them arewomen. When examining possible service offerings forthe future, we solicited feedback from customers. Thiswas when we learned about customers’ significant anxiety for the future with regard to money. This anxiety
resulted in most of them turning to savings. However,everyone knows that savings do not grow. Looking tohelp such customers, MARUI GROUP sought to create
services that would assist them in growing their wealthwith peace of mind. We eventually arrived at the idea ofcumulative investment.
Nakaki: The conventions of cumulative investment differ
from those of the standard form of investment. For
example, there is no need to intensely watch the stock
market, trying to buy low and sell high. Rather, the convention of cumulative investment is just to continue
steady investment, whether prices are high or low.
Steadily investing in a trustworthy fund of a reputable
management company will no doubt be an effectivemeans of building assets over the long term. Cumulative
investment could therefore be seen to be a “buy andforget” approach toward investment.

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Dialogue 03

Dialogue 03

Contributions to the Happiness of All Customers through Cumulative Investments

I want to make cumulative investment based on
confidence in the future a part of our culture.
The idea of an economy driven by the money andtrust of individuals is exhilarating.
Takeo Nakaki
Kantake: The desire to save money usually has something more meaningful behind it, whether that be a­special someone, a dream, or some other matter ofimportance. Cumulative investments are the best way
to grow one’s precious money with peace of mind.

Japan’s First Scheme for Purchasing Investment
Trusts with Credit Cards    
Kantake: There are a lot of people who assume you needa fair amount of on-hand funds to invest. At tsumiki
Securities, we overturn this preconception by allowing
cumulative investments to be made starting from as little
as ¥3,000 a month via one’s EPOS card. This system is a
first for Japan. Once a month, funds are deducted from
customers’ accounts together with their usual payments,
such as those for shopping or mobile phone bills, andusers accumulate EPOS points based on the amounts
and duration of their investments. By letting customers
make payments with the EPOS cards they have become
accustomed to, we hope to lower the hurdle people perceive when they think of investment.
Nakaki: If investments can be made in sums of ¥100 or¥1,000, while it may be easier to start, it is common forpeople to stop after only a short time as the purpose of46

those investments feels unclear. The most common
amount for cumulative investments in trusts is ¥10,000,but this amount can feel a bit too high for those who are
new to investment. The amount of ¥3,000 can be produced if one only adjusts their expenditures or gives up
something small. This amount also gives investments aclear purpose, making it easier to commit to continue.
I therefore see that this amount is just right. Monthly cumulative investments are a purchase, a purchase of a sense ofsecurity for the future so that one can live in the moment.
Kantake: The financial lexicon can be difficult to understand, and we have had a lot of trouble explaining financial concepts to customers in terms they can understand.
Nakaki: Communicating information in an easy-tounderstand manner is important. I take care to provide
simple explanations, using the Internet and other tools
when appropriate. I do not expect customers that will bebuilding assets through tsumiki Securities to study orunderstand difficult financial terms. Rather, I want tocommunicate to these people the effectiveness of cumulative investments, how to incorporate these investments
into one’s life, and the attitude to be taken toward investments. I also want to teach them how to be more prudent
in their use of money.
Kantake: We also try to provide a venue for asking questions that cannot be easily answered via the Internet bymeans of our stores. Here, customers can ask about
product selection, contract terms, or even how to view
our websites. We thereby support customers through a
two-pronged approach using both the Internet and physical venues.
Nakaki: The representatives of the fund managers wehave partnered with all share similar sentiments regarding
the importance of face-to-face explanations. No matter
how functional and convenient the Internet may become,it cannot replace the passion and dedication that fuel theeffectiveness of face-to-face explanations. Of course, weare taking steps to provide support via the Internet thatcomes closer to what you would get at a physical store.

Contributions to the Happiness of All Customers through Cumulative Investments

Meaningful Social Contributions
through Investment    
Kantake: Our securities business provides services
designed to accumulate money for customers’ futures. Assuch, our own reputation is called into question. We haveselected four funds to offer, all of which are operated byfund managers that explain the benefits of long-term
cumulative investments to customers in the same terms as
we do. This narrow selection was chosen in response tocustomers who stated that, while they wanted to beginasset building, there were too many options for them tochoose from with the hope of making this choice easier forthem. Furthermore, as these funds have met the government’s criteria for being applicable under the Tsumitate
NISA program, they can be utilized with peace of mind
even by customers that are new to asset building, areoverly busy, or are apprehensive toward investment.
Nakaki: That is why it is ideal for the fund managementcompanies we partner with to be those that customers
can familiarize themselves with. We therefore selected
funds that were worthy of our trust through careful evaluations from both quantitative and qualitative perspectives.
The criteria for these evaluations included (1) how
compelling their philosophy is, (2) whether they are working
to continually improve their performance, and (3) if they
actively engage with their customers. I believe that ourinvestment trust business is the ultimate sharing business.
In the investment trust business, the money received from
customers is channeled through sales companies, tsumiki
Securities in our case, to trust funds of management companies and then to companies boasting value. The last
step of this cycle sees returns being made to customers
through the business activities of those companies. The
resulting cycle creates a business that is beneficial for customers, the sales company, fund managers, the companies in which investments are made, and society.
Moreover, returns are shared in this business, which issustainable over the long term. There are still very few
sales companies and fund managers that have fully
embraced this model. As a forerunner in this area, I hopeto promote the spread of cumulative investment.

Our securities business provides services designed
to accumulate money for customers’ futures.
As such, our own reputation is called into question.
Asumi Kantake
Improvement of Overall Corporate Valueby Utilizing Management Resources    Kantake: Tsumitate NISA is an offering designed with thecustomer in mind. This is illustrated by the fact that it has
no trust sales commissions and low trust fees. Manycompanies are choosing not to take advantage of thisprogram because of its low profitability. MARUI GROUP,
meanwhile, is proactively utilizing this program because
it represents an opportunity to fully utilize its management resources, such as its stores, IT systems, humanresources, and affiliates, and because it boasts a customer base consisting of 6.6 million EPOS cardholders.
Nakaki: One will be compelled to purchase an offering
when the lifestyle that offering proposes resonates withthem. Investment trusts can be seen as one such offering. Furthermore, exercising the full potential of MARUIGROUP requires the strength of individual employees.
It is when a charismatic employee devotes themselves toserving a single customer and contributing to their happiness that we will be able to provide services that aretruly tailored to individual customers. The ability to makeproposals that resonate with customers I sensed in
MARUI GROUP’s employees after joining the Company
is something I feel that we can leverage to its fullest.
Kantake: Encouraging customers to engage in cumulative investment over the long term will also contribute tolong-term use of EPOS cards. MARUI GROUP’s securities
business is therefore incredibly meaningful to improving
the Company’s corporate value.

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