Go Away, Reddit Rage. Nomura Has the Salaryman
The brokerage’s earnings show Japanese investors are readier to save the world than crush the system.
CEO Kentaro Okuda will be making Nomura leaner.
Photographer: Akio Kon/BloombergPandemic boredom has made tons of money for Wall Street. Of late, though, the ennui of work-from-home trading has given way to rage. The investing industry is suddenly terrified of becoming Reddit roadkill. Luckily for Japan’s largest broker, its reliable retail clients aren’t interested in crushing short sellers. They’re too busy saving the world.
Or so it appears from the December quarter earnings of Nomura Holdings Inc. During those three months, the retail business, which accounts for a sixth of pretax income, surged 61% from a year earlier. Profit from the slightly smaller asset management unit jumped 140%. Overall net income rose 72% from a year earlier to 98.4 billion yen ($937 million).