A top-ranked fund that keeps a fifth of assets in shares of Japanese lenders is ready to increase that position on the possibility the central bank is preparing to end its ultraeasy monetary policy.
Yutaka Uda, the president and chief investment officer of Evarich Asset Management in Tokyo, said the sector may double in value over the next 18 months as the Bank of Japan may scrap its yield-curve control and put an end to negative interest rates as early as this year. Evarich’s Nippon Growth Fund has beaten 98% of its peers with a return of almost 38% this year on assets totaling ¥16 billion ($108 million).
"We have room to increase our stake if needed,” said Uda, who founded the firm in 2002. Wage hikes are going to be sustainable as Japan’s economic growth remains strong, he said.