Banks are having surprising success selling investment trusts, succeeding where brokerages have largely failed, according to a Standard & Poor's report Monday.
As of December, banks had a solid 38 percent share of the market for investment trusts, with the majority of the funds being sold in stocks, the report says.
S&P attributed the banks' success to straightforward marketing and leveraging of their strong brand names and customer bases. The banks are also offering a product mix tailored to customer needs and pick their portfolio mixes based on past performances rather than group companies' interests.
Until 2003, investment trust sales in Japan were sluggish and performance was volatile, it says.
It says domestic securities companies had soured the market by churning customer accounts to generate fees and favoring investments in group companies.