SMFG, Barclays Teaming In Wealth Management Services -Nikkei

30th Jun 2010 18:20

TOKYO (Nikkei)--Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. (8316.TO) and U.K. giant Barclays PLC (BCS, BARC.LN) will launch a private wealth management joint venture here Thursday that will target individuals with at least Y500 million to invest, The Nikkei reports in its Thursday morning edition. SMFG units Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. and Nikko Cordial Securities Inc. will tap Barclays' asset management know-how to offer services in Tokyo, Osaka and Yokohama. An official announcement is slated as early as Thursday. SMFG will take a 50.1% stake in the joint venture, while the Barclays group takes the remaining 49.9%. The venture will be charged with translating documents and software into Japanese as well as with developing sales in Japan. Barclays Wealth, the wealth management division of Barclays, currently provides services in Europe and Asia. Nikko Cordial has set up an in-house Barclays Wealth division, which will work with the joint venture in wealth management operations. SMBC will refer customers to the service, aiming for it to have Y1 trillion under management after a few years. SMFG took a roughly 2% stake in Barclays in 2008 and acquired Nikko Cordial in 2009. (END) Dow Jones Newswires June 30, 2010 13:20 ET (17:20 GMT)