2015 Share and Quality Leaders in Japanese Cash Equities and Derivatives

After several years in which the Japan’s biggest domestic equity brokers added to their already impressive levels of market share, the country’s brokerage industry settled into a state of at least temporary equilibrium in 2015.

As in past years, Nomura Securities dominated both cash equity trading and research/advisory services. In Japanese equity trading, Nomura’s 12.1% market share with institutions based in Japan and Asia, which account for the lion’s share of Japanese equity trading volume globally, places the firm far ahead of nearest competitors Daiwa Securities, SMBC Nikko Securities and Mizuho Securities, which are statistically tied with market shares of 8.1%-9.0%, and Morgan Stanley and Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities, which are tied with market shares of 7.4%-7.7%. These firms are the 2015 Greenwich Share Leaders in Japanese Equity Trading. Nomura Securities also claims the title of 2015 Greenwich Quality Leader in Japanese Equity Sales Trading and Execution Service.

The 2015 Greenwich Share Leaders in Japanese Equity Research/Advisory Services are Nomura Securities, with an advisory vote share of 14.0%, followed by Mizuho Securities, SMBC Nikko Securities and Daiwa Securities, which are tied at 10.1%-10.8%, and Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities at 8.6%. Nomura Securities is the 2015 Greenwich Quality Leader in both Japanese Equity Research Product & Analyst Service Quality, and Japanese Equity Sales & Corporate Access Quality.

“With scale becoming increasingly important in cash equities, the $1.5 billion in annual trading commissions earned by brokers makes the Japanese equity business a meaningful battleground for firms both domestic and global,” says Greenwich Associates consultant John Feng.

Dealers Find Advantage in Electronic Trading Prowess
The large share of Japanese equity trading volume executed through “low touch” channels provides opportunities for brokers with top-quality electronic trading platforms. For 2015, the Greenwich Quality Leaders in Japanese Electronic Trading are Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Nomura Securities. 

In the important category of algorithmic trading, Nomura Securities leads the field with a market share of 11.9%, followed by a closely matched group of brokers including Daiwa Securities, UBS, Credit Suisse, Morgan Stanley, and Bank of America Merrill Lynch, which are statistically tied with market shares of 7.4%-8.4%. These firms are the 2015 Greenwich Share Leaders in of Japanese Equity Algorithmic Trading.