Landing a job as an announcer at a major Japanese TV station is a rare feat in itself.
Maiko Uda did that in 1997, only to quit after about five years as she found her true calling: finance. Today, she is one of the few female portfolio managers in the world’s third-largest stock market and co-manages a fund that last year beat 97% of its peers.
Betting on macro trends is a key element of Uda’s investment style. One of her expectations is that infrastructure spending in Japan will rise further as the economy recovers from the pandemic, benefiting the commodity operations of trading houses. She also reckons the Bank of Japan will raise its cap for 10-year sovereign yields to between 1.5% and 2% within two years from 0.5% now, helping bolster lenders’ interest income.