Monex Group / 8698
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R Monex Group / 8698 COVERAGE INITIATED ON: 2018.04.16 LAST UPDATE: 2020.01.31 Shared Research Inc. has produced this report by request from the company discussed in the report. The aim is to provide an “owner’s manual” to investors. We at Shared Research Inc. make every effort to provide an accurate, objective, and neutral analysis. In order to highlight any biases, we clearly attribute our data and findings. We will always present opinions from company management as such. Our views are ours where stated. We do not try to convince or influence, only inform. We appreciate your suggestions and feedback. Write to us at [email protected] or find us on Bloomberg. Research Coverage Report by Shared Research Inc. Monex Group / 8698 R LAST UPDATE: 2020.01.31 Research Coverage Report by Shared Research Inc. | www.sharedresearch.jp Coverage INDEX How to read a Shared Research report: This report begins with the trends and outlook section, which discusses the company’s most recent earnings. First-time readers should start at the business section later in the report. Executive summary ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3 Key financial data ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5 Recent updates ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 6 Highlights ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------6 Trends and outlook ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 7 Quarterly trends and results -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------7 Full-year company forecast for FY03/20 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 25 Medium-term outlook ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 29 Business ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 37 Business description -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 37 Services and customer segments -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 38 Earnings structure ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 48 Consolidated earnings ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 50 Japan segment ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 52 US segment ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 60 Strengths and weaknesses ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 65 Group companies ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 67 Market and value chain ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 68 Historical performance ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 84 Income statement --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 105 Balance sheet --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 106 Cash flow statement ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 111 Other information -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 112 History ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 112 News and topics ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 114 Major shareholders ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 114 Shareholder returns------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 114 Corporate governance and top management ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 115 Profile -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 116 02/117 Monex Group / 8698 R LAST UPDATE: 2020.01.31 Research Coverage Report by Shared Research Inc. | www.sharedresearch.jp Coverage Executive summary One of the top five online brokerages with advanced trading tools and overseas subsidiaries Monex Group, Inc. started as online brokerage Monex, Inc. in April 1999 with CEO Oki Matsumoto and Sony Corporation as ◤ core investors. The company grew through mergers with Nikko Beans, Inc. in 2005, and ORIX Securities in 2010. The group expanded overseas by adding Boom Group and TradeStation Group, Inc. in 2010 and 2011, respectively. Seeing blockchain and cryptocurrency technology as key growth drivers in the future, Monex Group has been preparing to enter this field since announcing its “New Beginning” initiative in October 2017. In keeping with this plan, it subsequently acquired cryptocurrency exchange operator Coincheck, Inc. in April 2018. Monex Group’s core business is retail online brokerage. The company offers trading services mainly in equities, forex, and ◤ investment trusts as well as futures, options, bonds, and cryptocurrency. Peers are SBI Securities, Rakuten Securities, Matsui Securities, and kabu.com Securities (in order of market share). In FY03/19, main group subsidiary Monex, Inc. had 1.82mn accounts (third of the top five online brokerages; 15.4% share), ◤ customer assets in custody of JPY4.1tn (third; 15.8%), equity trading value of JPY14.2tn (fifth, 6.5%), and margin trading balance of JPY157.0bn (fifth; 8.1%). Monex has stood out for its advanced trading tools, overseas subsidiaries, and in-house development of a backbone brokerage system. The customer base mainly consists of investors with a longer-term outlook who don’t mind paying higher commissions for the diverse trading order options and trading tools the company offers. Monex Group has five segments: Japan, US, Asia-Pacific, Crypto Asset, and Investment. The main drivers of each segment are ◤ Monex, Inc., TradeStation Group, Boom Securities, Coincheck, and Monex Ventures, respectively. By segment, FY03/19 net operating revenue broke down to Japan 53.2%, US 40.0%, and Crypto Asset 4.3%; Japan accounted for 68.3% and US 108.3% of FY03/19 pre-tax profit, while Crypto Asset posted a loss of JPY1.7bn. Japan (Monex, Inc.): Segment operating revenue consists of stock brokerage commissions (41.4% of segment net operating ◤ revenue in FY03/19), trading income (17.6%), and net financial income (30.4%). Segment SG&A expenses are mostly fixed. Trading-related expenses accounted for 22.3%, personnel expenses 17.6%, and system-related expenses 54.1% in FY03/19. US (TradeStation Group): Net operating revenue consists of commissions received (62.1% of the segment’s net operating ◤ revenue in FY03/19) and net financial income (31.1%). Segment SG&A expenses break down to trading-related expenses (35.5% of segment SG&A expenses in FY03/19), personnel expenses (40.2%), and system-related expenses (18.6%). The share of personnel expenses is high because the company hires in-house system developers. Crypto Asset (Coincheck, Inc.): Coincheck provides cryptocurrency exchange services and earns the majority of revenue from ◤ net trading income. Segment SG&A expenses are trading-related expenses (14.9% of segment SG&A expenses in FY03/19), personnel expenses (36.2%), and office expenses (19.1%). In FY03/19, Coincheck had 1.75mn registered users and 900,000 verified accounts. Trends and outlook The company’s previous strategy, covering FY03/12–FY03/17, focused on responding to globalization and bringing system ◤ development in-house. While the company was able to expand its product range, particularly at Monex, Inc., and develop an IT system internally, the parallel operation of two backbone brokerage systems pushed up costs. As a result, although sales grew, profits fell, while competitors