Katsutoshi Endo

BlackRock Japan Co., Ltd. is the Japan-based investment advisory subsidiary of BlackRock Japan Holdings GK, headquartered in Tokyo. The firm was founded in 1988 and is ultimately held by BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE: BLK) in the US. BlackRock Japan merged with Barclays Global Investors Japan Co., Ltd. (BGI) in 2009. The resulting firm combines BlackRock's focus on actively managed funds with the former BGI's strength in index and exchange-traded funds. BlackRock Japan provides investment advisory services, manages Japanese investments, and contributes local specialist insight to Blackrock's range of funds, particularly the iShares tracker ETFs. Their clients are pension funds, governments, insurance companies, public institutions, funds, foundations, charitable organizations, operating companies, banks, government funds, asset management companies, and individual investors around the world.

NN Investment Partners (Japan) Co. Ltd. (NN IP-JP) is the Japanese subsidiary of NN Investment Partners Holdings NV, ultimately held by ING Groep N.V. (NYSE: ING) in The Netherlands. NN IP-JP was established in 1999 and services Japanese institutions (governmental and corporate pension funds, insurance companies and foundations) as well as private individuals. Based in Tokyo, the firm co-advises sub-funds of umbrella funds domiciled in Europe and manages Japan-domiciled funds, focusing on the Japanese market. They also distribute the diverse range of funds managed within the parent group.

Part of The Bank of New York Mellon Corp., Newton Investment Management Japan Ltd. is a Japanese company that specializes in investment management. The company is based in Tokyo, Japan. Newton Investment Management Japan recently completed the integration of BNY Mellon Investment Management's equity team into their company, which was the culmination of BNY Mellon IM's initiative to expand Newton's equities and multi-asset capabilities and research platform. The company was founded in 2022. Izumi Chihara has been the CEO of the company since 2022.