Mirae Asset Securities to acquire Okasan Securities' proprietary trading arm for 43 billion won

Mirae Asset Securities has re-entered the Japanese market by acquiring the proprietary trading subsidiary of Okasan Securities Group, a mid-sized Japanese brokerage. It marks the company's return to Japan 10 years after its exit in 2016. The move is a strategic push to gain an early foothold in the retail finance market, riding on the recent boom in Japanese stocks and the rapid growth of the individual investor market.

According to Nikkei Asia on Oct. 28 (local time), Mirae Asset Securities agreed to acquire Okasan Securities' proprietary trading affiliate for up to $32 million (about 43 billion won).

Through the acquisition, Mirae Asset Securities has immediately secured a license and business base to start proprietary stock trading in Japan.

Behind Mirae Asset Securities' return to Japan after a decade is a structural shift in the local capital market. The Japanese government introduced the new Nippon Individual Savings Account (NISA) in 2024, sharply expanding investment benefits, and household funds that had been parked in deposits are rapidly moving into stocks and investment trusts. In the first half of this year alone, foreign investors' net purchases of Japanese stocks hit a record 11 trillion yen (about 99 trillion won), with global capital inflows also strong.

Acquiring an existing brokerage is an effective way to speed up market entry. For a foreign financial firm to obtain a securities license in Japan and build IT systems and a customer network from scratch takes considerable time and cost.

By acquiring an existing entity, Mirae Asset Securities has bypassed these entry barriers and laid the groundwork to respond quickly to the rapidly expanding Japanese retail market. In August 2026, Mirae Asset Securities said in a disclosure addressing rumors of a Japanese brokerage acquisition that it was "independently reviewing an acquisition."

The two companies will also seek additional business cooperation through the deal. Mirae Asset Securities said it "will discuss further collaboration, including selling exchange-traded funds (ETFs) to Okasan Securities' customers."

Mirae Asset has already built a presence in the local ETF market through Global X Japan, a joint venture with Japan's Daiwa Securities Group. It is expected to leverage Okasan Securities' distribution network to boost wealth management and product sales synergies.

Korean brokerages continue to attempt entry into the Japanese retail market. Toss Securities, a Korean fintech brokerage, is also exploring the acquisition of a Japanese securities firm, touting the strength of its mobile platform.

Nikkei Asia noted that "the deal, worth up to $32 million, shows that foreign brokerages, following investment firms, are entering the Japanese market."

※ This article is an AI translation of the Korean original published by Korea Credit News; it was checked by automated quality guards and published by the English edition desk.