Written by Mariko Katsumura
TOKYO (Reuters) – On the face of it, the pair are unlikely to inspire confidence as the masterminds behind Japan's newest stock fund: one, a former comedian and the other, a stereotypical otaku geek.
But their first box, announced Wednesday, may be the Christmas gift followers of artist Toshiya Imura have been waiting for since he revealed his plans for it nearly two years ago.
The 40-year-old father of three gained fame and a passionate fan base by turning his obsession with stock research into 6.5 billion yen ($41.4 million) in assets as an individual investor.
His reputation was such that any time his name appeared in a regulatory filing as a major shareholder, that company's stock soared, as followers sought “Imura stock” to cash in on his value investing bets.
But Imura had bigger dreams: to become a professional investor so that more Japanese people could profit from the stock market – a goal that is in line with the government's effort to convert roughly $6.5 trillion of Japanese household money into financial investments.
He began persistently courting Keizo Takeri, an eccentric former Goldman Sachs analyst, to be his partner in crime.
Imura said he was immediately struck by Takeri's photographic memory, talent for analysis and sheer skill when they first met in 2020.
“His knowledge was next level,” Imura told Reuters in an interview this month with Takeri and an official from Fundnote, which manages the fund.
Takeiri had previously caught the attention of Akira Katayama, a popular online gamer turned billionaire whose invitation to work at his hedge fund was further evidence of his analytical skills.
Known to his former Goldman colleagues as a “stock otaku,” Takeri, 38, said his years at the elite University of Tokyo were spent skipping classes, playing mahjong and researching stocks. Grooming was low on his list of priorities.
“He sometimes appears with holes in his clothes and his fingernails are strangely long,” Imura joked. “Maybe he doesn't care or notice? He's a high-quality weirdo.”
This feeling is mutual.
Takeri said Imura would send him 200 Slack messages on a typical day, but then disappear for several days in a row as he delved into the company's balance sheet.
“The force with which he throws himself into discovering what he wants to know is out of this world.”
The new fund will go on sale on January 10 and will have an initial investment cap of 10 billion yen.
($1 = 157.1000 yen)
