Foreign equity investments via new NISA likely hit record in June: Nomura

TOKYO -- The amount of money Japanese retail investors shifted into foreign equities via a tax-free investment scheme likely hit a record in June, according to Nomura Securities, although such strong flows are expected to fade.

Net inflows into foreign equity investment trusts using the new Nippon Individual Savings Accounts (NISA) program reached 840 billion yen ($5.2 billion) in the first 12 business days of last month, the company's currency strategists, led by Yujiro Goto, said in a recent report. That was more than the first 12 working days of any other month so far this year, they noted, adding that net flows in the first half of a month typically reflect the scale of flows for the whole month.