Investors around the world often wonder why Japanese investors and business managers seem to behave differently from their Western counterparts at times. For example, Japanese investors tend to shy away from stocks and are often in search of social ideals in their daily operations. Kazuhisa Okamoto, CFA, from I-O Wealth Advisors in Tokyo, formerly President of CFA Society Japan and CEO of Barclays Global Investors Japan, offered an explanation from the angle of Japan’s deep cultural heritage and, in particular, the “merchants’ way” (as opposed to the “samurai’s way” that is well known in popular culture), the origin of which traces back to the Endo era.

The Take 15 Series is a series of short interviews with leading practitioners on timely topics focused on the investment profession.