Affirmative Investment Management (AIM) has become the first foreign asset manager to register its business in Japan using the newly created Financial Market Entry Office (FMEO) in the country, according to a statement from the firm.
AIM in Japan is registered as an investment advisory and agency business, which enables the firm to provide investment advice to their clients. This will also be AIM’s first office in Asia. Besides London, it has offices in Melbourne and Washington, according to the firm’s website.
Established in 2014, AIM is a global impact fixed income manager with assets of around $1.1bn. It manages three strategies, which are the US$ Liquid Impact Bond, the Single Currency Impact Bond and the Multi-Currency Impact Bond strategies.
Registration process
Launched in January, the FMEO was created by Japan’s Financial Services Agency and local finance bureaus in a move to attract more foreign asset managers to set up in the country. The FMEO handles pre-application consultation, registration and supervision for newly entering asset managers, and allows firms to complete the registration process in English.
“In the process of supporting AIM for its registration as an investment advisory and agency business operator, various communications, including a video conference with the company and the preparation of the registration application documents, were conducted in English,” the FSA said in a separate statement.
Since AIM’s registration process was completed in English, the supervision of AIM will also be conducted in English by the FMEO, the FSA added.
“We found the FMEO to be very professional, timely and thorough in their registration process,” AIM said in its statement.
Japan has made moves to attract foreign businesses to set up in the country. In 2019, for example, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government (TMG) established a business consultation centre in Hong Kong, according to a TMG statement.
“Hong Kong is an international financial and economic metropolis in Asia that has a high concentration of foreign firms, which is why TMG has chosen to establish its first “Business Development Centre Tokyo” (BDCT) consultation there,” TMG said.
The BDCT is a project that was launched in 2012, which provides foreign companies with business support services. In 2017, additional services were included to ensure that international financial firms can receive high-quality information about doing business in Tokyo.
