On the face of it, the duo hardly seem fit to inspire confidence as the brains behind Japan¡¯s newest stock fund: one, a former comedian and the other, every bit the stereotypical otaku geek.
But their maiden fund, announced on Wednesday, may be the Christmas gift that followers of the one-time entertainer, Toshiya Imura, have been waiting for since he revealed his plans for it about two years ago.
The 40-year-old father of three had gained fame and an enthusiastic fan base by turning his obsession with stock research into ?6.5 billion ($41.4 million) in assets as an individual investor.
His reputation was such that any time his name appeared in a regulatory filing as a major shareholder, that company¡¯s stock would surge, as followers sought out ¡°Imura stocks¡± to piggy-back on his value-investment bets.
But Imura had bigger dreams: to become a professional investor to get more Japanese to profit from the stock market ¡ª a goal that aligns with the government¡¯s efforts to shepherd the roughly $6.5 trillion of households¡¯ cash into financial investments.
He doggedly began his courtship of Keizo Takeiri, a quirky, former Goldman Sachs analyst, to be his partner-in-crime.
Imura said he was instantly struck by Takeiri¡¯s photographic memory, talent for analysis and sheer geekdom when they first met in 2020.
¡°His knowledge was next-level,¡± Imura said in an interview this month alongside Takeiri and an official from the fund¡¯s operator, Fundnote.
Takeiri had also previously caught the eye of Akira Katayama, a famous online gamer-turned-billionaire whose invitation to work at his hedge fund was further proof of his analytical chops.
Known to his ex-Goldman colleagues as ¡°that stock otaku,¡± Takeiri, 38, said his years at the elite Tokyo University were spent skipping classes, playing mahjong and researching stocks. Grooming was low on his priority list.
¡°He sometimes shows up with holes in his clothes and bizarrely long fingernails,¡± Imura teased. ¡°Maybe he doesn¡¯t care or notice? He¡¯s a real high-spec weirdo.¡±
That sentiment is mutual.
Takeiri said Imura would send him 200 Slack messages on a typical day but then go missing for days on end when diving deep into a company¡¯s balance sheet.
¡°The force with which he throws himself into finding out what he wants to know is out of this world.¡±
The pair¡¯s new fund goes on sale on Jan. 10 and will have an initial investment cap of ?10 billion.
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