Alpaca, a global enabler of tokenization and brokerage infrastructure APIs providing access to options, stocks, ETFs, fixed income, and crypto, announced the roll-out of US stock execution service for SBI SECURITIES Co. Ltd, Japan’s online brokerage firm. This provides options for US stock execution and access in Japan.
There has been growing interest in foreign equities among retail investors in Japan with holdings of US equities “increasing from $596 billion in 2019 to $975 billion in 2024.”
In January of this year, Bank of America had also noted that Japan’s retail investment into US-focused Toshins (Japanese mutual funds of foreign equities) had surged by $9.8 billion USD (¥1.5 trillion), “a 46% increase year over year.”
Together, these latest trends seemingly reflect the appeal of US equities among Japanese investors as they look to “protect themselves against economic concerns including high interest rates and currency depreciation.”
SBI SECURITIES has worked towards expanding “investment access for Japanese retail investors and reducing barriers to US stock trading.”
The company reportedly helped eliminate brokerage commissions “on US stocks and ETFs under the new Nippon Individual Savings Account system and waived real-time FX conversion fees for USD/JPY.”
This announcement represents a collab that supports Alpaca’s mission of opening financial services to “everyone and SBI SECURITIES’ mission of providing investors in Japan with investment opportunities.”
With client assets under custody exceeding $338 billion USD (¥50 trillion), SBI SECURITIES ranks among Japanese online brokerages in “terms of assets under custody, number of accounts, and individual stock trading value.”
Yoshi Yokokawa, CEO and Co-Founder of Alpaca said that they are honored that SBI SECURITIES, Japan’s largest online brokerage, “has chosen to adopt our execution services.”
They also mentioned that this partnership is “meaningful as it expands the options for US securities trading in Japan.”
We will continue to collaborate with leading financial institutions across the world in providing stable, scalable trading infrastructure for global markets.”
Alpaca reportedly enables various partners across 40 countries, “collectively serving over 7 million brokerage accounts.”
The firm presently holds broker-dealer licenses in the US, Japan, and other jurisdictions, and has also recently agreed “to acquire WealthKernel, a UK- and EU-licensed fintech firm, expanding its global service capabilities.”
