Smartplus

Smartplus Co., Ltd. is a Japanese financial technology firm established in March 2017 as a subsidiary of the Finatext Group. Headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, the company operates as both a licensed financial institution and a technology provider. The parent company, Finatext, was founded in 2013 by Ryota Hayashi, who also serves as a director and co-founder of Smartplus. Hayashi, a graduate of the University of Tokyo, brought experience from Deutsche Bank in London and GCI Asset Management to his entrepreneurial ventures. Noriko Kobayashi is the current Representative Director of Smartplus.

The core of Smartplus's business is its securities platform, "Brokerage as a Service" (BaaS), which enables other companies to offer securities services to their own customers. This platform provides the necessary infrastructure, including systems and operational support, allowing business partners to launch financial products without the extensive capital and time investment typically required. Smartplus serves a range of clients, including asset management companies, regional financial institutions, and Independent Financial Advisors (IFAs), helping them to create and launch new services, design unique investment strategies, and manage regulatory registration. The company's revenue model combines an initial setup fee with a performance-based fee that scales with the partner's business growth.

Through its BaaS platform, Smartplus has developed several products. A key B2C offering is "STREAM," a commission-free stock trading application for individual investors that features spot and margin trading. The company also provides a digital robo-advisory solution called "Digital Wealth Manager" (DWM), which allows partners to offer customized investment management services. Notable partnerships include the development of "Saison Pocket" with Credit Saison, a service enabling investment through credit cards, and "WEALTH GROWTH" with JTG Securities, a discretionary investment service focused on U.S. individual stocks.

Keywords: Brokerage as a Service, BaaS, FinTech, investment platform, securities infrastructure, digital wealth management, robo-advisory, stock trading app, asset management solutions, Japanese finance, embedded finance, investment services, Finatext Group, STREAM, Digital Wealth Manager, Saison Pocket, Noriko Kobayashi, Ryota Hayashi, commission-free trading, investment management, wealth tech