A joint venture between Nomura Securities Co. and the Industrial Bank of Japan announced Monday that it will establish a 401(k)-style pension account management company Wednesday along with 22 other firms.
The new 401(k) management company, called Japan Investor Solutions & Technologies Co., will be capitalized at 6.9 billion yen. All participating firms except for the Nomura-IBJ venture will fork out 300 million yen each, which translates into 6,000 shares each.
The Nomura-IBJ venture will own 12,000 shares worth 600 million yen. Chuo Trust & Banking Co. and Mitsui Trust & Banking Co., which will merge next April, will put up 150 million yen each.
Major city banks including Sanwa, Dai-Ichi Kangyo and Fuji, as well as life and nonlife insurers, will participate in the alliance, which is tasked with the development of a so-called record-keeping system in which individual customer accounts are managed.
Unlike conventional pension plans, the 401(k) plan, or defined contribution plan, will allow individuals to choose between various investment options, and the amount of pension funds they receive will depend on how well the investments do.
The U.S.-style pension plans are expected to be introduced as early as autumn 2000.