Earnings Call Transcript - NMR Q3 2023

Operator, Operator

Good day, everyone, and welcome to today's Nomura Holdings Third Quarter Operating Results for Fiscal Year Ending March 2023 Conference Call. Please be reminded that today's conference call is being recorded at the request of the hosting company. During the presentation, all the telephone lines are placed for listen-only mode. A question-and-answer session will be held after the presentation. Please note that this telephone conference contains certain forward-looking statements and other projected results, which involve known and unknown risks, delays, uncertainties and other factors not under the company's control, which may cause actual results performance or achievement of the company to be materially different from the results, performance or other expectations implied by those projections. Such factors include economic and market conditions, political events and investor sentiment, liquidity of secondary markets, level and the volatility of interest rates, currency exchange rates, security valuations, competitive conditions and size, number and timing of transactions. With that, we would like to begin the conference. Mr. Takumi Kitamura, Chief Financial Officer. Please go ahead.

Takumi Kitamura, CFO

Good evening. This is Takumi Kitamura, CFO of Nomura Holdings. I will now give you an overview of our financial results for the third quarter of the fiscal year ending March 2023, using the document titled Consolidated Results of Operations. Please turn to Page 2. Group wide net revenue for the quarter was JPY393.7 billion, up 24% from last quarter. As you can see on the right, income before income taxes increased 165% to JPY83.6 billion, underscoring a rebound in performance since bottoming out in the first quarter. Net income was JPY66.9 billion. EPS was JPY21.5 and ROE came in at 8.5%. The market was clouded by uncertainty in October as central banks in Europe and the U.S. shifted to monetary tightening and concerns grew over a recession. This gradually eased as the pace of rate hikes slowed, and there was a pause in appreciation of the U.S. dollar, leading to higher risk appetite among investors and a rally in equity markets. December brought a surprise move from the BOJ in yields curve control. Investors rushed into the bank and insurance sectors while selling real estate and export-related stocks. The yen appreciation and the bear market prompted investors to buy on the dips, and sales increased as expectations rose over a revival in Japanese equities. So on the whole, we saw an improvement in investor sentiment during the quarter. Amid this backdrop, three segment income before income taxes rose 43% to JPY44.7 billion, as shown on the bottom right, driven by a rebound in retail and investment management. Income before income taxes from outside the three segments was JPY38.9 billion. In December, we sold a part of our stake in Nomura Research Institute and booked a realized gain of JPY28 billion, which is mostly included here. Before turning to results for each business, I will briefly touch on performance for the nine months to December. Please turn to Page 3. As I said, market uncertainty eased during the third quarter and investor risk appetite increased. But looking at the nine months compared to the same period the year before, market activity was generally sluggish across many product lines. Groupwide net revenue was roughly flat at JPY1,010.6 billion, supported by the precipitous drop in the yen. However, income before income taxes declined 28% to JPY126.8 billion, and net income slumped 24% to JPY85.4 billion. EPS was JPY27.44 and annualized ROE was 3.8%. As you can see on the bottom right, three segment income before income taxes declined 45% to JPY94.4 billion. Retail reported a slowdown in flow revenues, mainly from stock and investment trusts, while investment gain loss in investment management worsened. Conversely, retail recurring revenue and investment management business revenue, which represents stable revenues were both higher compared to the previous year. In Wholesale, the investment banking revenues slowed as corporates postponed share issuances and performance in our equities business was muted. Fixed income booked stronger revenues driven by the macro business. We also reported an improvement in gain loss related to transactions with a U.S. client in 2021. As a result, Wholesale income before income taxes increased 16% year-on-year. Let's now take a look at each business, starting with Retail on Page 6. By the way, the percentages I refer to from now on are all quarter-on-quarter comparisons. Net revenue in Retail increased 12% to JPY81 billion. Income before income taxes grew 142% to JPY13.3 billion. By strengthening our segment-based approach and providing detailed consulting services tailored to each client's needs and the changing market conditions, we were able to increase flow revenue by 22% driven by sales of stocks, investment trusts and foreign bonds. Recurring revenue was flat, but our recurring revenue cost coverage ratio remained at 50% as overall revenues increased, and we maintained expenses. Please turn to Page 7 for a breakdown of sales by product. Total sales for the quarter increased 7% to JPY4.9 trillion. Sales of stocks became more active each month as the market rebound improved investor sentiment and retail investors bought on the dip in December. U.S. growth stock funds and high yield funds topped sales of investment trusts on the back of expectations for growth at U.S. corporates and higher bond yields. Sales of insurance products also increased as we made successful proposals for solutions for retirement funds and estate planning needs. Please turn to Page 8 for an update on KPIs. Net inflows of recurring revenue assets shown on the top left, increased slightly to JPY7.6 billion as there was a large investment trust redemption by corporate clients. Excluding corporate clients, net inflows were JPY190 billion, with contributions from discretionary investments, insurance and loans. As you can see on the upper right, recurring revenue assets stood at JPY18.1 trillion at the end of December, down due to market factors, although recurring revenue remained flat. Please turn to Page 9 for Investment Management. Net revenue increased 118% to JPY57 billion. As shown on the bottom left, business revenue, which represents stable revenues, increased by 5%. The Asset Management business remains solid and Nomura Babcock & Brown performance improved on the back of a recovery in the operating environment for aircraft leasing. Investment gain loss was JPY25.6 billion, a significant improvement compared to negative JPY3.7 billion last quarter. American Century Investments gain loss made a substantial contribution and Nomura Capital Partners reported unrealized gains and recognized realized gains on the exit of some private equity investments. Expenses increased 15% to JPY23.7 billion due to share sales and the origination of aircraft leases. And these are transaction-related costs, which won't occur every quarter. Income before income taxes was JPY33.3 billion, the highest level in six quarters. Now turning on to Page 10. As shown on the top left, assets under management were JPY64.7 trillion at the end of December, down JPY100 billion due mainly to market factors. Net inflows on the bottom left show outflows of about JPY100 billion from the investment trust business due to JPY350 billion of outflows from ETFs. MRFs, where retail investors talk idle funds, reported inflows of JPY200 billion, and core investment trust also booked inflows of JPY44 billion. The Investment Advisory business reported inflows of JPY57 billion on inflows into foreign stock funds in Japan. As shown on the bottom right, alternative assets under management declined due to yen appreciation, but inflows continued. Please turn to Page 11 for Wholesale. Net revenue declined 8% to JPY189.1 billion. As shown on the bottom left, Global Markets revenues slowed by 15% to JPY154.3 billion, mainly due to a slowdown in rates and ForEx emerging markets. Investment banking revenues increased 24% on a recovery in the Japan ECM business. Expenses were JPY190.9 billion, up 3% due to yen depreciation, severance-related expenses, platform enhancements and professional fees. As a result, loss before income taxes was JPY1.9 billion. Please turn to Page 12 for an overview of business line performance, starting with Global Markets. Net revenue declined 13% to JPY154.3 billion. Fixed income dropped 25% to JPY86.7 billion. Macro products had a particularly slow quarter. Although rates revenues increased in EMEA for both the flow and structured businesses, agency mortgages in the Americas declined. ForEx emerging market in AEJ slowed from last quarter, which was the best in about six years. Spread Products revenues increased primarily in AEJ as China's economy reopened, but securitized products slowed due to muted client activity. Equities revenues increased 9% to JPY67.5 billion. Execution services revenues increased in Japan and the Americas due to primary transactions and a rebound in market volumes. We also recognized JPY9.1 billion in revenues related to prior transactions with U.S. clients. Please turn to Page 13 for Investment Banking. Net revenue increased 24% to JPY34.8 billion. Advisory remained solid despite a slowdown in global fee pools as M&A completed transactions and equity private placement transactions in the Americas contributed to revenues. As you can see here, revenue from financing and solutions improved markedly due to factors including a rebound in Japan ECM and strong performance in the Solutions business for equities, rates and ForEx on demand for hedging amid market volatility. Please turn to Page 14 for an overview of non-interest expenses. Groupwide non-interest expenses increased by JPY24 billion to JPY310.1 billion, of which about 30% is attributable to yen depreciation. Other factors include compensation and benefits being impacted by severance-related expenses in Wholesale. Other expenses increased by 32% due to a rise in professional fees related to transactions and because provision reversals related to progress in legacy transactions kept expenses down last quarter. Finally, please turn to Page 15 for an update on our financial position. As shown on the table on the bottom left, Tier 1 capital was JPY3.2 trillion, down JPY36 billion from the end of September due to lower ForEx transaction value as the yen rose. Risk-weighted assets rose by JPY770 billion from the end of September to JPY17.9 trillion. The waterfall graph on the bottom right shows credit risk declined by JPY460 billion, but market risk increased by JPY1.2 trillion due partly to a temporary increase in our position due to credit spread widening and transaction origination. As a result, our Tier 1 capital ratio at the end of December was 18.1%, and our CET1 capital ratio was 16%, both lower than at the end of September. That concludes the overview of our third quarter results. This quarter, we finally saw market-to-market valuations turned positive after dragging down our results from the past three quarters. This, combined with the realized gain from selling shares in an affiliate company, substantially lifted groupwide earnings. In our core business, we started to see an improvement in sentiment among investors and corporates and retail and investment banking revenues rebounded, giving us an ROE of over 8% for the first time in four quarters. Retail performance in January got off to a slightly slow start compared to revenue levels in the third quarter, but we are starting to see a bullish stance towards Japan equities as expectations grow over the reopening of the economy. Demand for a newly launched investment trust reopened Japan has been higher than expected. In Wholesale, fixed income, particularly macro products struggled in the third quarter, but bottomed out in October and has been recovering. Overall, wholesale has gotten off to a good start in January. While maintaining this business momentum, we will manage costs stringently. As we said at our investment forum last year, we are working towards JPY20 billion in cost reductions in retail by end of March 2025. In Wholesale, we will see the impact of inflation globally, but we are reviewing our cost base in line with the current business environment, and we will continue to do so. This year, we expect inflation concerns and geopolitical risks to continue and we must remain vigilant. We will manage risk prudently while providing liquidity and solutions for our clients. Thank you.

Operator, Operator

We have a question-and-answer session now. The first question is from SMBC Nikko Securities, Muraki-san. Muraki-san, please go ahead.

Masao Muraki, Analyst

Thank you. This is Muraki from SMBC Nikko. Regarding the wholesale, first on Page 11, the cost ratio is 101%. You mention this includes some one-off factors, but how do you plan to reduce this to 80%? The trend shows revenue is not growing significantly, while expenses are increasing, creating a reverse leverage situation. Looking back at 2019 and also April 2016, you conducted a major cost reduction and announced significant savings, allowing you to maintain share and cut costs. Currently, you have made cautious comments about reducing headcount, similar to Morgan Stanley's recent large-scale cut. Last December, you stated that a major headcount reduction was not being considered. However, with April being a crucial time for you, I am eager to see your clients' response once again at Nomura. Can you provide more insight on this? I don't believe there are many underperforming operations, but compared to the past, achieving effective cost reductions seems quite challenging. Could you also comment on the changes in this situation? My second question relates to Page 11, the KPIs. If we calculate risk assets divided by net revenue, with 5.9% of revenue against risk-weighted assets, you indicated that trading was slow. But if we exclude the impact from trading, was the revenue over modified RWA slightly better? Thank you.

Takumi Kitamura, CFO

Yes. This is Kitamura. Thank you, Muraki-san. Your first and second questions are somewhat related. Firstly, our wholesale business has a cost-income ratio above 100%, indicating that we are currently unprofitable, which is disappointing. It is crucial for us to achieve profitability on the bottom line, and that is a top priority. Regarding restructuring, U.S. competitors assessed deal flow and market activity. In 2021, they expanded significantly by hiring many new employees in expectation of market recovery, which turned out to be excessive. Last year, the market conditions changed suddenly, requiring them to make adjustments across various divisions. In contrast, Nomura has not significantly increased its headcount until last year, allowing us to avoid major layoffs. The structural reform we implemented in 2019 has allowed us to concentrate on our core products while maintaining a top market share, giving us a robust business platform. The performance in January indicates a strong recovery in global markets. The effects of interest rate hikes will take time to manifest, and clients will likely adopt a cautious approach in the structured finance sector. The question remains how long this situation will persist, but I believe we can afford to wait. There may be pent-up demand that we will be well-positioned to benefit from. It's important to uphold our franchise. Last year, the investment banking sector diminished significantly. We undertook substantial cost reductions to address declining profitability. The current high cost-income ratio is largely due to revenue challenges rather than cost issues. Unfortunately, in Q3, the business recorded a loss, with Global Markets earnings at JPY150 billion, which is quite challenging. Client revenue showed quarter-on-quarter improvement, but we failed to capitalize on revenue opportunities effectively. In October, as the dollar shifted from appreciation to weakness and interest rate movements were volatile, we could not secure revenues as needed, which was a significant lesson. At the start of Q3, particularly in October, conditions were tough, but as time passed, earnings in wholesale, especially in Global Markets, have improved, and this positive trend continues in January. In the mid to long term, we have the capacity to leverage future opportunities. The agency mortgage sector faced significant challenges this quarter, and revenue over risk-weighted assets was 5.9%. Excluding specific factors, the situation was quite poor. I cannot provide an exact figure, but if we disregard the weak mortgage sector, revenue relative to risk-weighted assets appeared reasonable. Thank you.

Masao Muraki, Analyst

Regarding the risk assets, this is Muraki again. On Page 15, you show how the risk assets have continued to increase, and you explained the reasons for this. However, in terms of new risk-taking, is that not significant, or has it impacted this? Additionally, last year you were reducing your risk assets in response to the FRB's actions. Have there been any positive effects from that?

Takumi Kitamura, CFO

This is Kitamura. There was a slight increase in risk-weighted assets. In the second quarter, this increase was influenced by currency levels. The rise of around 800 billion to 900 billion yen in risk-weighted assets was primarily due to the technical stress SVaR, which caused the increase. The positioning during the stress scenario contributed to this outcome, but we haven't taken on additional risks. The increase in SVaR was the main reason for the slight rise in risk-weighted assets. It's important to note that we have been cautious from a business perspective in the third quarter, yet the increase in SVaR affected the overall risk-weighted assets.

Masao Muraki, Analyst

Understood. Thank you very much.

Operator, Operator

Thank you very much. Your next question will be by Watanabe-san of Daiwa Securities. Watanabe-san the floor is yours.

Kazuki Watanabe, Analyst

Thank you. This is Watanabe from Daiwa Securities. I have two questions. First, regarding the third quarter flow and position along with the percentage on FIG revenue and how rates and exchange rates changed. It seems you were in a favorable environment to monetize, so why did you face challenges with macro products, and what are your future prospects? Secondly, I noticed an investment loss of JPY 25.6 billion, which is an improvement. Could you provide a breakdown of the major components, including the unrealized gains from AEC and ACI-related losses? I am also curious about your volatility mitigation policy and any initiatives you were implementing, as it appears these had no impact this time.

Takumi Kitamura, CFO

Thank you for the questions. First of all, on fixed income, the third quarter flow. Yes, this is Kitamura. On a company-wide basis, fixed income, 9 versus 1. 9 customers and risk or on position is 1. That's the ratio. And as I said, inventory or position management we were not so successful. And therefore, in terms of proportion, the client revenue outweighs our own position. And there has been stronger bias towards client revenue than ordinary times. Why did we struggle in macro products? December was quite active. And that's our impression. October, the market reached a turning point. In October, we defended our positions without taking significant risk, and that's probably one of the reasons why we struggled. One of our core businesses is agency mortgage. And in the case of Nomura, macro or in the rates business, this is included in the rates business. Maybe the demarcation is different in our peers, but in our case, we include this in macro. And again, there was some activity slowdown and also the market environment was extremely tough. So we were not able to capture revenue opportunities in this area and fixed income, especially macro products was a big challenge for us. Having said so however, conversely speaking, we're not so much concerned. Yes, there was a dip in October, but then after we have been able to cause recovery. So if we look at just the three months fixed income and rates were poor in terms of performance. But that's only for those particular three months. And more recently, we are seeing robust recovery, and we are confident about our position. IM investment loss breakdown, regarding quantitative disclosures from the previous session, we decided not to disclose, but ACI occupied major proportions and NCAP unrealized gains and realized gains have been included. ACI hedging portion is increasing as part of our risk mitigation policy, but we're not taking full hedge. It's not completely hedged. This is a partial hedge. And that is why the unrealized portion increased. And that's part of the background. Yes, there has been impact from hedging, and there could have been upside if we hadn't hedged. But due to partial hedging, unfortunately, our hedging position booked losses.

Kazuki Watanabe, Analyst

Thank you very much. I have one follow-up question. FIG revenue. If you look at the monthly on October, November and December, can you give us the proportion?

Takumi Kitamura, CFO

October, November, December breakdown, this is Kitamura responding to that question. Fixed income, October 30%, slightly below 30%. November, about 30%. December, around mid-40s. So the performance has been improving month after month.

Natsumu Tsujino, Analyst

Thank you. For fixed income in Japan, EMEA, and the U.S., could you share the breakdown or percentage? I also have a follow-up question, but I'll pause here first.

Takumi Kitamura, CFO

Yes, this is Kitamura. For fixed income, Japan, 20% or mid-20%; EMEA, 30% to 40%; Americas, 10% to 20%. AEJ, a little bit less than 30%.

Natsumu Tsujino, Analyst

Okay, I understand. Japan's performance is nearly flat, which is clear. EMEA performed well, while the Americas experienced a significant decline of more than half compared to the previous quarter. AEJ's second quarter was exceptional, but there has since been a drop. You mentioned that October was the lowest point and that things are improving, almost suggesting we should overlook October. In terms of taking risks, it seems you may not have been very risk-averse, and hedging might not have worked as intended. Going forward, will we see a recurrence of this situation? How can we be more assured that it won't happen again? The mortgage sector remains sluggish, although there were many loan applications in early January. Overall, the mortgage business is expected to stay slow. You previously discussed restructuring and indicated that it isn't necessary, while competition has noticeably increased quarter-on-quarter. Is this situation acceptable, particularly regarding the FIG Americas and agency mortgages? That's my first question. Secondly, in terms of FIG, your Americas FIG involves deals connected to Asia and Japan, and you’re receiving numerous orders from the Asian market. With the movement of short-term interest rates in the U.S. in October and the transition from yen depreciation to appreciation, how has that impacted Japanese financial institutions and their investment strategies? Did this result in a decrease in your revenue opportunities, and is a slowdown expected in the future? Thank you.

Takumi Kitamura, CFO

This is Kitamura. Regarding agency mortgage, I can't provide specific details on each product. October was challenging, and that is evident in various data, particularly mortgage-backed securities issuance, which saw a significant decline. The environment was quite difficult. However, I want to remind you of the substantial decrease we've experienced, leading to a market that has almost frozen with little volume. In terms of market outlook, if there is more clarity and the Federal Reserve's monetary policy becomes clearer, we might see some improvements in businesses that were weak last year, including the agency mortgage business. At Nomura, we hold the top share in agency mortgage, providing us with a solid platform to benefit from any potential upside. While we do not expect an overnight recovery, we also do not anticipate the current situation lasting indefinitely. When conditions improve, we will be ready to seize that upside. As for your second point regarding the Americas and the relationship with Asia and Japan in certain deals, we are observing a shift in client activities, particularly influenced by the Bank of Japan's recent policy changes. International and Japanese investors are now focusing more on the Japanese Government Bond (JGB) market, and client activity remains strong. Although there hasn't been much activity in this segment for quite some time, our market share is robust in this area. The movement in JGBs is notable. Concerning the U.S., the current yield curve is negative in Brazil, but changes in that context could lead to a flow from Japan to the U.S., partly due to interest rates. We do anticipate some shifts. Currently, Japanese investors are concentrated on JGBs, but the U.S. market is significantly larger and deeper. Once conditions stabilize, I think we'll witness a movement of funds from Japan to the U.S.

Natsumu Tsujino, Analyst

Yes. Just one follow-up. Japan. For Q3, Japan FIG was basically flat. But in mid-December, there was some action in the business, but it didn't lead to an increase in the FIG. So in Q4, how should we see Q4, please?

Takumi Kitamura, CFO

This is Kitamura. Thank you. I can't really talk too much in detail about the January numbers, but the fixed income in January is strong. That's all I can say.

Futoshi Sasaki, Analyst

Thank you. This is Sasaki of Bank of America. I have two questions. First of all, in the Tanshin summary, Page 13 segment profits. And at the bottom of segment income, you have the quarterly disclosure. And about the segment income, negative equity method investment numbers and realized gain was positive. And those numbers are approximately the same. In the press conference, you said there are two transactions. What is the accounting treatment applied here? That's my first question.

Takumi Kitamura, CFO

Thank you for your question. This is Kitamura speaking. As you see, 20.7% versus approximately the same. So on a net basis, it's JPY1.2 billion positive between unrealized and realized for policy holdings. On a regular basis, we monitor the significance or objective of policy holdings, and we're trying to reduce our portfolio, and we've begun to do so since approximately 10 years ago. You know that against our Tier 1 capital, the level of our policy holding only accounts for 45%, which is significantly lower than other financial institutions and more recently, we have continued to sell off those hoverings. And now I directly respond to your question, but in our Nomura's segment information regarding shares that we have sold, the amount of difference between the investment we have done and the sales proceed is shown as realized gain. So until the previous quarter, the accumulated amount, which had been booked as unrealized losses, that is reversed in one month. So that amount is therefore shown on two lines. And so what had been included in unrealized gain was realized and therefore, that had led to losses, unrealized losses. So that is how the accounting treatment works. And the same accounting treatment had been applied since the past, but there was a bit of a deformation because of the size of the amount.

Futoshi Sasaki, Analyst

Thank you very much. So there is a plus and minus in the policy holdings. Is that correct?

Takumi Kitamura, CFO

Yes, because we have sold those holdings, that's how we book those numbers.

Futoshi Sasaki, Analyst

Thank you very much. Regarding the second question, the ACM business has seen improvements. I want to shift focus from the performance results to discuss YCC disclosure. Do you believe that JGB will become very profitable given the increased attention? However, it seems that only security firms may make purchases. How do you foresee this environment evolving, and can we expect specific revenue from it, or is there a possibility of downgrading? With the increase in volatility, it seems that investment banking could generate revenues; do you think that perspective is too simplistic, or can you share your thoughts on this?

Takumi Kitamura, CFO

This is Kitamura. Frankly speaking, I talked about physician management not being so successful. And immediately, having made that comment, I don't want to reverse. But I don't think the investor will certainly place weight on the reverse side. So it will not be a case where the position will continue to accumulate. So as we make coordination and adjustment in our position when there is client activity, of course, that would mean revenue opportunity for ourselves. So if there is volatility, no doubt that would lead to revenue opportunity.

Futoshi Sasaki, Analyst

Thank you. This is Sasaki again. If you recall, when negative interest rates were introduced or when people stopped buying JGBs, that caused significant changes in JGB prices. You have encountered such situations before. Were you able to generate substantial revenues from those events in the past?

Takumi Kitamura, CFO

I apologize, I don't have the data at hand. This is Kitamura speaking. But in principle, when there is a market shock, rate-related business would significantly improve performance. That's a general comment. But sorry, I do not have data at hand, but intuitively, that's how it is.

Koichi Niwa, Analyst

Thank you. This is Niwa from Citi. I have two questions. The first is about retail revenue. In this quarter, the flow has been strong, which gives us more comfort. However, I'm curious about how to interpret that period. Over the past nine months, retail revenue seems to be improving, but compared to previous levels, it's still not there yet. When we look at your peers during the past three months, Nomura had a strong recovery. Is there a difference in the client bases between you and your peers? Should we assess the improvement in retail revenues based on that, or were your operations too conservative? Are you now moving towards taking more risks and becoming more active in engaging with your clients, or are you adapting to the new business structure after the reforms? Could you provide more insights about the revenue improvement and whether we can expect continued growth in revenues? My second question is regarding your Asset Management division. I've seen media coverage stating that there have been successes in launching new investment trusts, particularly for Japan equities. Are these new funds gaining popularity in the markets, or are you focusing more on your existing funds? Is your current lineup sufficient? I'm interested in understanding the market sentiment for investment trust products among corporate clients and retail investors.

Takumi Kitamura, CFO

Thank you. This is Kitamura. Nomura’s retail business is performing better than our competitors, or at least it appears that way. The reasons for this are linked to the customer base and our proposals to clients. In the past, we were somewhat reluctant to present our products to customers. Now, we recognize that when proposing a product, we should offer a range of options, which has enhanced our interactions with customers. We made a conscious effort to improve in this area. As a result, we've become more proactive in introducing and proposing our products, leading to significant growth in customer interactions and proposals. However, it's ultimately up to the customers to decide on their investments. A robust customer base is crucial, and besides our proposals, our promotional strategies and overall approach have evolved. I believe multiple factors contributed to the revenue growth in retail. I'm not entirely sure what our competitors are doing, and while we monitor their performance, we don't fully understand the reasons behind it. However, our strengthened proposals and customer base have certainly played key roles in our revenue improvements. Regarding your second point about reopening large investment trusts, we successfully stimulated investment demand and catered to customer needs. Currently, retail investors in Japan are making net purchases. On January 6, we held a Japan equities event with a seminar discussing the investment landscape, and more than 1,000 people participated in the webinar. This indicates a strong interest in Japanese equities, which is greater than in the past few years when global, particularly U.S. equities, garnered more attention. There is now a growing sentiment towards Japanese equities, and many customers have previously been underweight in this area. We have been encouraging them to consider Japanese equities for portfolio diversification, which has resulted in increased purchases. While we don't intend to continuously launch large funds, the timing has aligned favorably, prompting us to introduce this new fund. There are many financial products available in the market, and we aim to meet customer needs according to market conditions while continuing to enhance our product proposals.

Koichi Niwa, Analyst

Thank you very much. Regarding the first point, may I make a follow-up, please. Over the three months, maybe there isn't much clear trend. But on Page 7 of the presentation, bottom right, you get the hit products, it's the U.S. growth stocks, high yield. And so these are somewhat contrarian, I think. But in terms of customer needs and customer characteristics, how do you see it at the moment? And yes, I understand how these products were popular among those customers. But when you look at the recent hit products, how do you analyze the appetite of investors.

Takumi Kitamura, CFO

Thank you. This is Kitamura. For U.S. equities, the reason why they were popular is, as you pointed out, Niwa-san, it was more of a contrarian approach, I think. And there was a big correction in U.S. equities. In the meanwhile, there is strong expectations for growth in the U.S. So when investors want to build their assets over the mid to long term, they wanted to add a position to their U.S. equities, U.S. growth stocks as part of their portfolio, I think. And as for high yields, we have a very strong track record in this area. And we have been diversifying our investments about 700 , I think, is the diversification and has been maintaining very strong performance and the interest rate situation is changing. And the currency has stabilized quite a bit from the past. So interest rates remain high and some investors want to buy these types of products, I think.

Operator, Operator

There are no more questions. We would like to finish the question-and-answer session. Now we would like to make the closing address by Nomura Holdings.

Takumi Kitamura, CFO

Thank you, everyone, for joining the Q3 call. If we look at the results, the Retail division, which has struggled for the past three quarters, along with investment management, has shown some positive movements. Unfortunately, wholesale has been loss-making, so the results for these three quarters were disappointing. However, there has been an improvement in performance since January, indicating we are moving in the right direction. We aren't overly concerned about the situation, but many have highlighted the need to manage costs better, and I share that sense of urgency. We have been controlling costs but will reassess our strategies going forward. We have a clear understanding of what needs to be done and the priorities we need to focus on. Looking at this quarter, there have been some fluctuations, but we prefer not to get distracted by that and instead concentrate on our mid to long-term goals. We appreciate your continued support and understanding. Thank you very much.

Operator, Operator

Thank you for taking your time, and that concludes today's conference call. You may now disconnect your lines.