Kokusai Asset Management Co. Ltd, a private owned investment firm, is the product of a 1997 merger of Kokusai Investment Trust Management Co., Ltd and Kokusai Invest Management C., Ltd, which were started in existence since 1983 and 1984 respectively. The company is based in Tokyo, Japan, and has offices in London and Okinawa. It manages investments such as equity, mutual funds and fixed income on behalf of its clients. According to the firm’s SEC 13F filing submitted on October 15, 2014, its top three holdings in terms of investment value are the global tech giant Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), health conglomerate Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) and diversified technology and financial services company General Electric Company (NYSE:GE).
Kokusai topmost holding is Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), whose investment value stands at $4.7 million in the portfolio. The company is one of the leading tech companies in the world. It produces premium gadgets such as tablets, smartphones, and MacBooks. The company’s latest smartphones, iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus are selling like hot cakes in the market. Some of the company’s subsidiaries include Beats Electronics, Apple Store, Authentec, Inc. and FingerWorks. The company’s main direct shareholders are Levinson Arthur D, Cook Timothy, who’s also the CEO, and Federighi Craig. On October 16, the company released new iPads, an iMac and a new operating system for MacBooks.
The second largest investment by Kokusai is Merck & Co., Inc is Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) and is valued at about $4 million. The American health company is among the largest pharmaceutical companies globally. In the past few weeks, the media has been abuzz with the news of its leaked buyout that has since saw its former analyst charged by the U.S. court with illegally passing private merger details. The Kahn Brothers own the largest stake of Merck & Co. A few of its subsidiaries are Sirna Therapeutics, Merial, Merck Sharp & Dohme Ltd. Its major institutional holdings include Capital World Investors, Wellington Management, and Vanguard Group Inc.
General Electric Company (NYSE:GE) is the third largest investment of Kokusa Asset Management Co. Ltd with a value of $3.9 million. General Electric is an American conglomerate operating in different segments such as Energy, Technology, capital financing, among others. The company has several subsidiaries that operate in different segments. These include GE Aviation, GE Energy Infrastructure, GE Capital, GE Healthcare, GE Security, and several others. The company is the world’s largest aircraft lessor and is said to be following up on acquiring Milestone Aviation Group for $1.78 billion. And if you thought GE isn’t such an attractive stock, then you should know that Ken Fisher, known for his portfolio strategy columns on Forbes magazine, owns $807.693 million worth of this stock through his fund Fisher Asset Management.
This article has been written by Victor Ochieng.
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