400F

400F Inc., established in November 2017, operates in the Japanese FinTech market, providing a digital platform to bridge the gap between individuals with financial concerns and professional advisors. The company's name is inspired by the painting "The Red Vineyard," reportedly the only piece sold during Van Gogh's lifetime, for 400 francs, symbolizing the belief in recognizing and nurturing latent potential.

The company was founded by Hitoshi Nakamura, who now serves as President and CEO. Nakamura's career began at Nomura Securities, a major Japanese securities firm, where he handled retail sales and later worked on global financial research and corporate sales. This experience exposed him to the challenges ordinary consumers face in making financial decisions solely online, leading him to recognize the need for a service that blends digital convenience with human expertise. This conviction drove him to join Money Design Co., Ltd. in 2016, a firm specializing in robo-advisors, before establishing 400F.

400F's core offering is 'Okaneko,' a platform formerly known as 'Okane no Kenko Shindan' (Money Health Check-up). This service allows users to receive a personalized financial assessment by answering approximately 20 questions about their household, income, and family structure. Based on a database of over a million users, the platform compares an individual's financial situation with that of their peers in the same age group and region. Following the diagnosis, users are connected with financial professionals, such as Financial Planners (FPs) and Independent Financial Advisors (IFAs), for free, anonymous chat-based consultations. The platform primarily serves users in their 20s to 50s concerned with topics like household finances, insurance reviews, and investment strategies.

The business model is B2B2C. 400F generates revenue by charging fees to the financial professionals and institutions for connecting them with prospective clients through the platform, while the service remains free for individual users. The company also operates as a financial services intermediary and an insurance agency. To support its main platform, 400F provides 'Okaneko Biz,' a suite of tools for financial advisors to manage customer interactions. The company has expanded its ecosystem with services like 'Okaneko Magazine' for financial literacy, 'Okaneko Insurance Comparison,' and even a career support service, 'Okaneko Tenshoku'. More recently, it launched 'Okaneko Partners,' a B2B solution leveraging AI and data analytics to help financial institutions optimize their customer experience.

Keywords: financial planning, FinTech, asset management, financial advisory, online consultation, insurance comparison, investment advice, household finance, retirement planning, financial literacy, B2B2C platform, wealth management, lead generation, customer matching, digital communication, financial services intermediary, IFA support, Japanese market, Hitoshi Nakamura, Okaneko