Doing bespoke work since 2002....., Custom Products Group

Patrick Hansen

Doing bespoke work since 2002.....

Custom Products Group

Custom Products was started 14 years ago at Lehman Brothers by current co-founder Patrick Hansen, CFA. After 3 years at Lehman, Patrick moved the team to Macquarie Securities where Simon Rigney (co-founder) joined. 3 years ago we took Custom Products independent. 

Our core strength can be summed up three words. 1- Customization - we have very little off the shelf products and most work is done on a one on one bespoke basis. 2- Speed - We pride ourselves in our ability to get requests back to the client very quickly. 3- Confidentiality - We do not redistribute. There is no grace period where we wait a week and then mass blast. Any request stops with that client.

Thematic (Sector/Industry)

We recently published a piece looking at Sectors that are highly correlated to TOPIX. In the piece, we highlight the other side. Sectors that are not correlated to TOPIX. Now when we get into the smaller-cap space, the correlations to TOPIX tend to be lower. We therefore limited the universe to names above ¥200bn mkt-cap. Food &amp; Staples Retailing is one of the sectors with a pretty low correlation to TOPIX. While, the two largest names by mkt-cap, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/1041" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:1041:1">Seven &amp; I Holdings Co Ltd (3382 JP)</a> and <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/3" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:3:1">Aeon Co</a>…

We recently published a piece looking at Sectors that are highly correlated to TOPIX. In the piece, we highlight the other side. Sectors that are not correlated to TOPIX. Now when we get into the smaller-cap space, the correlations to TOPIX tend to be lower. We therefore limited the universe to names above ¥200bn mkt-cap. Food &amp; Staples Retailing is one of the sectors with a pretty low correlation to TOPIX. While, the two largest names by mkt-cap, Seven &amp; I Holdings Co Ltd (3382 JP) and Aeon Co…

Sectors Not Correlated to TOPIX - Retailing, Food & Staples Retailing, and Utilities

Japanese Turnaround Situations, Short-Ideas, Azabu Research

Michael Allen

Japanese Turnaround Situations, Short-Ideas

Azabu Research

Azabu Research is a publishing and consulting firm focused on distressed equities in the Japanese market. We specialize in turnaround strategies, corporate combinations, divestitures, and restructuring.

Publisher of the Tokyo Turnaround Letter, which conducts the most thorough research possible of publicly available information, including forensic tests for fraudulent overstatement of assets and understatement of liabilities, as well as rigorous market and industry analysis to assess the underlying strengths of the company’s products or services, the appropriateness of the company’s turnaround strategy, and the skill of its current management team. The average length of a report exceeds 25 pages of text and tables, excluding any disclosures or executive summaries.

We have more than 30 years of experience in applying this process to distressed equities in Japan. Additionally, subscribers have free access to detailed, yet easily navigated earnings models for the target company as well as the top five comparable companies, and unlimited access to the analyst for follow-up questions.

Azabu Research also conducts be-spoke research on a project basis, and provides consulting services to companies looking to restructure, divest, make acquisitions, go public, or improve investor sentiment toward their stock.

Independent Research and Consulting Firm

Equity Bottom-Up

<ul>
<li>LY Corp’s new Agent AI is the first step in a path to total domination of Japan’s underdeveloped but rapidly expanding digital payments industry.</li>
<li>By replicating Tencent’s business model, LY aims to cement its place as Japan’s core digital infrastructure, spanning communication, payments, commerce, media, and enterprise services.</li>
<li>Despite the vision, shares lag sharply due to a comedy of one-off calamities, but even with modest execution, we think there is meaningful upside, limited downside.</li>
</ul>


LY Corp’s new Agent AI is the first step in a path to total domination of Japan’s underdeveloped but rapidly expanding digital payments industry.
By replicating Tencent’s business model, LY aims to cement its place as Japan’s core digital infrastructure, spanning communication, payments, commerce, media, and enterprise services.
Despite the vision, shares lag sharply due to a comedy of one-off calamities, but even with modest execution, we think there is meaningful upside, limited downside.


LY Corp's (4689) Plan to Dominate Practically Everything

It is not just a Japan issue, a lot of US companies also hoard cash. <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/666" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:666:1">Apple Inc (AAPL US)</a> for instance has $67bn sitting on the balance sheet. I do not mind if companies have a lot of cash, that means they must be doing something right. However if a company just sits on the cash and does nothing then it is just a waste. When more than half of the company's assets are in cash and that has been the case for more than 10 years, they do not have a profitable use for it. The cash is just sitting…

It is not just a Japan issue, a lot of US companies also hoard cash. Apple Inc (AAPL US) for instance has $67bn sitting on the balance sheet. I do not mind if companies have a lot of cash, that means they must be doing something right. However if a company just sits on the cash and does nothing then it is just a waste. When more than half of the company's assets are in cash and that has been the case for more than 10 years, they do not have a profitable use for it. The cash is just sitting…

Companies that Are Chronic Cash Hoarders....

Japan/Asia Long-Short, LightStream Research

Mio Kato

Japan/Asia Long-Short

Japanese and Asian equity long/short strategies

Uzabase

Specialising in Japanese and Asian equity long/short strategies with a focus on rigorous, but targeted quantitative analysis to temper evaluations of company strategy, potential and vision. At Uzabase, our team of analysts provides coverage of industry dynamics with a local Asian flavour on Speeda, our financial information platform. Going forward we are aiming to channel our focus toward thematic research on emerging industries and company research.

With a five-day weekend upon us in Japan, we take the opportunity to briefly review some of our ideas to date and offer a selection of our highest conviction ideas for Japan's new fiscal year. We measure performance from the closing price on the day after any particular insight.<div class="content-highlight"><a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/14050" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:14050:1">Dowa Holdings Co Ltd (5714 JP)</a></div>We initiated on Dowa with a bullish stance on 16 Sep 2016  conducting a detailed examination of segmental earnings drivers and sensitivities in <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/insights/deconstructing-dowa-holdings-deepening-analysis-using-regressions-and-unlisted-company-financials" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="insights:5796">Deconstructing Dowa Holdings: Deepening</a>…

With a five-day weekend upon us in Japan, we take the opportunity to briefly review some of our ideas to date and offer a selection of our highest conviction ideas for Japan's new fiscal year. We measure performance from the closing price on the day after any particular insight.Dowa Holdings Co Ltd (5714 JP)We initiated on Dowa with a bullish stance on 16 Sep 2016  conducting a detailed examination of segmental earnings drivers and sensitivities in Deconstructing Dowa Holdings: Deepening…

Analyst - Japan Autos, Hirakata Office

Noriaki Hirakata, CFA

Analyst - Japan Autos

Hirakata Office

<ul><li>I am back to the research space after 5 years of field work.</li><ul><li>Over 15 years' sell side experience was not sufficient on a real battlefield.</li><li>Interesting days at Mitsubishi Motors in the strategic management office and proving track.</li></ul><li>Growth driver for global automotive industry <ul><li>Chinese market dominates most, while Japanese are not keen to this reality.</li><li>This may induce strategic mistakes for the Japanese automotive industry.</li></ul></li><li>Big Attitude Shift towards alliances <ul><li>Japanese automotive industry has become more constructive to alliances in recent years.</li><li>Huge success at Subaru.</li><li>AD or connected car may not be the main reason.</li><li>We need to make further analysis of regulation trends to understand these phenomena. </li></ul></li><li>Changes in the latest power-train strategy at Toyota Motor <ul><li>Surprising change from "Hybrid to Fuel Cell" to "Hybrid to Plug-in Hybrid".</li></ul></li><li> It seems like the right time to evaluate the competitive edge of the Japanese automotive industry. </li></ul>

I am back to the research space after 5 years of field work.Over 15 years' sell side experience was not sufficient on a real battlefield.Interesting days at Mitsubishi Motors in the strategic management office and proving track.Growth driver for global automotive industry Chinese market dominates most, while Japanese are not keen to this reality.This may induce strategic mistakes for the Japanese automotive industry.Big Attitude Shift towards alliances Japanese automotive industry has become more constructive to alliances in recent years.Huge success at Subaru.AD or connected car may not be the main reason.We need to make further analysis of regulation trends to understand these phenomena. Changes in the latest power-train strategy at Toyota Motor Surprising change from "Hybrid to Fuel Cell" to "Hybrid to Plug-in Hybrid". It seems like the right time to evaluate the competitive edge of the Japanese automotive industry. 

I'm Back with New and Hopefully Better Thoughts (Japanese Automotive Industry)

Japan

ZOZO Inc operates internet shopping sites for apparel.  The Company also provides communication services relating to apparel such as blogs by fashion moguls and internet chat room for users.

Price Gauge
52-week Range	0.00 - 0.00
Market Cap (USDm)	0.00
P/E	0.00
Dividend (Yield)	0.00

ZOZO Inc (3092 JP)

Sectors Not Correlated to TOPIX - Retailing, Food & Staples Retailing, and Utilities

We recently published a piece looking at Sectors that are highly correlated to TOPIX. In the piece, we highlight the other side. Sectors that are...

Custom Products Group

LY Corp's (4689) Plan to Dominate Practically Everything

LY Corp's Agent AI aims to dominate Japan's digital payments industry by replicating Tencent's business model. Stock lags due to one-off...

Michael Allen

Companies that Are Chronic Cash Hoarders....

It is not just a Japan issue, a lot of US companies also hoard cash. Apple Inc (AAPL US) for instance has $67bn sitting on the balance sheet. I do...

Custom Products Group

Golden Ideas for Golden Week

With a five-day weekend upon us in Japan, we take the opportunity to briefly review some of our ideas to date and offer a selection of our highest...

Mio Kato

I'm Back with New and Hopefully Better Thoughts (Japanese Automotive Industry)

I am back to the research space after 5 years of field work. Over 15 years' sell side experience was not sufficient on a real...

Noriaki Hirakata, CFA

Price Gauge

52-week Range

Market Cap (USDm)

P/E

Dividend (Yield)

Sectors Not Correlated to TOPIX - Retailing, Food & Staples Retailing, and Utilities

We recently published a piece looking at Sectors that are highly correlated to TOPIX. In the piece, we highlight the other side. Sectors that are...

Custom Products Group

LY Corp's (4689) Plan to Dominate Practically Everything

​LY Corp's Agent AI aims to dominate Japan's digital payments industry by replicating Tencent's business model. Stock lags due to one-off...

Michael Allen

Companies that Are Chronic Cash Hoarders....

It is not just a Japan issue, a lot of US companies also hoard cash. Apple Inc (AAPL US) for instance has $67bn sitting on the balance sheet. I do...

Custom Products Group

Golden Ideas for Golden Week

With a five-day weekend upon us in Japan, we take the opportunity to briefly review some of our ideas to date and offer a selection of our highest...

Mio Kato

I'm Back with New and Hopefully Better Thoughts (Japanese Automotive Industry)

I am back to the research space after 5 years of field work. Over 15 years' sell side experience was not sufficient on a real...

Noriaki Hirakata, CFA

LY Corp's Agent AI aims to dominate Japan's digital payments industry by replicating Tencent's business model. Stock lags due to one-off...