Japan’s largest brokerage firm, Nomura Holdings, has enlisted the help of a computer-generated influencer to promote tax-free investing accounts in an effort to appeal to a younger demographic of retail clients.
Meet Imma – a virtual influencer sporting a vibrant pink bob hairstyle and boasting nearly a million followers on popular social media platforms like Instagram and TikTok. Imma can now be seen in Nomura’s advertisements for tax-free accounts under Japan’s Nippon Individual Savings Accounts (NISA) system. Both the government and the brokerage industry have long been committed to promoting NISA, which is akin to the ISA plan in the United Kingdom, as a means of encouraging individuals to invest their savings in potentially more lucrative ventures rather than simply hoarding them. Prime Minister Fumio Kishida plans to expand the NISA program starting in January 2024, prompting Nomura to introduce new tax-exempt products accordingly.
The promotion of individual investments takes on heightened significance in the coming years, as Japan’s baby-boomer generation – the custodians of a significant portion of the nation’s household wealth – will be passing on their assets to younger successors. For Nomura’s brokerage division, this presents an opportunity to redirect the funds held by their primarily older retail clientele (most of whom are over 60 years of age) towards investments rather than seeing them held as cash or being subject to the state’s inheritance tax.