Securities firms targeting elderly customers

February 18, 2018

Tokyo- Japanese securities firms are boosting services to support "shukatsu" end of life preparations as a marketing strategy to lure elderly customers.

Securities firms are aiming to attract elderly people and their financial assets by providing advice not only on investment but also on inheritance and funeral preparations as well as on what to do with their digital assets, such as photos and emails.

At a shukatsu seminar held in Tokyo's Nihonbashi district by Nomura Securities Co., a unit of Nomura Holdings Inc. , in late January, sales staff accompanied some 300 participants to lectures and consultation services.

"I want to gain legal knowledge on a will and gifts as I may face needs for inheritance procedures at any time," a 64-year-old man, a resident in Tokyo, said.

"When I had to clean up my parents' home after my mother died, I had difficulty getting rid of items that reminded me of memories about her," said Shinichi Mizuno, senior corporate managing director at Nomura Securities, recalling his own experience.

Popular booths at the seminar included those for consultations for how to throw away unnecessary items, ways to relocate cemeteries in hometowns and lectures on a family trust method aimed at problem-free family business successions.

SMBC Nikko Securities Inc., a unit of Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc., held a lifetime gifting seminar at the Kaneiji temple in Tokyo's Ueno district in early February.

Some 100 participants, mainly in their 70s to 80s, listened attentively to a lecture by a lawyer on effective measures for reducing inheritance tax.

A man in his 80s who came from Fuchu, a Tokyo suburb, with his wife, said, "Although I've made some inheritance preparations, such as utilizing an insurance product for lifetime gifting, I'm worried about a surprise inspection by the tax office." Jiji Press