Each index in the chart is calculated by LUCA Japan as the value of December, 2005 (for Nikkei Stock Price and S&P500, the closing price of December, 2005) equal to one. The index for Nikkei Stock Average is compiled by LUCA Japan, based on the data from Nikkei Indexes (Nikkei Inc’s Nikkei 225 official site). The other indices are compiled by LUCA Japan, based on the data from Preqin Ltd. Nikkei Inc. shall not accept any responsibility or liability for the compiled index of Nikkei Stock Average and bears no responsibility or liability for any actions arising from the use of the compiled index of Nikkei Stock Average. Preqin Ltd shall not accept any responsibility or liability for the other compiled indices and bears no responsibility or liability for any actions arising from the use of the other compiled indices. Nikkei Stock Average is copyrighted by Nikkei Inc..
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Bridging the Gap in Alternative Investing
LUCA streamlines complex investment process and delivers world-class alternative investment opportunities to a wider range of investors
What is LUCA?
First alternative investment platform in Japan
Access to alternative investments has long been limited to institutional investors due to the complexity of the investment process. LUCA, the first alternative investment platform in Japan, streamlines this investment process through digitalization, making it possible to provide investment opportunities to a wider range of investors, including individual investors, by completing the process in one-stop.
Furthermore, as the market becomes more scalable through digitalization, the minimum investment amount for overseas alternative funds, which is usually said to be 500 million to 1 billion yen, can be lowered to tens of millions of yen or less.
Alternative investments in the past
Before
Limited information access channels
Intermediaries and brokers complicating the process
Difficulty in comparison
Complicated account opening and ID verification process
Large minimum investment amount
Alternative investments at LUCA
After
One-click access to world-class funds
One-stop service covering subscription to reporting
Provides comprehensive comparison by asset class, strategy, region, etc.
Complete account opening and
ID verification online
Reduction of minimum investment size
What are alternative investments?
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Alternative investments
Investments that emerged after traditional public market-traded stocks and bonds ("traditional assets") are called alternative investments. Alternative investments are said to have been available after World War II, until they began to gain mainstream popularity since the 1980s.
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Low correlation with the public market
As opposed to traditional assets, whose returns are highly affected by the fluctuations of the public markets, alternative investments have less correlation as there are not exposed to the public markets.
Liquidity
While listed stocks and bonds can be traded on the market on a daily basis, alternative investments are mid-to-long term investments under 5 or 10 years of span. In other words, the liquidity of alternative investments is relatively low. However, some open-ended funds in alternative investments may have quarterly liquidity.
Why are alternative investments
in the spotlight now?
Low market correlation
Because of its risk-return profile, which are different from those of traditional assets, alternative investments are relatively unimpacted by market volatilities.
Portfolio diversification effect
A portfolio approach is expected to mitigate concentration risks.
Attractive risk-adjusted returns
Efficient asset management is likely to result in stable and effective investment returns.
Recommended for:
investors who aim to diversify their asets away from listed stocks, bonds, and mutual funds
investors who are interested in investing into tangible assets
investors who aim to diversify their assets with foreign Investments
investors who aim for high returns in a medium to long-term
Please open an account to view investment opportunities.
Features of LUCA
Onboarding
Complicated and time-consuming client onboarding, from eKYC to application, can be completed simply with just your smartphone.
Easy to compare funds
LUCA’s format is organized in a way that makes it easy to compare fund documents, which tend to be in very distinctive styles. The data room has all the necessary documents in one place, reducing the need for email exchanges.
Reporting
Investment-related administrative procedures, such as capital call notifications, payment confirmations, and document signatures, can be easily viewed on LUCA’s dashboard, ensuring that there are no omissions in communication with clients.
The platform also allows investors to check the status of their portfolios by providing regular reports on the progress of their investments.
Flow of Use
Step2
How to login
Email is sent within 3 business days with login instructions.
Step3
ID verification and screening
LUCA Japan asks an investor to submit documents to verify his or her ID and the investor qualifications
Step4
Finalization of investment amount
LUCA Japan determines your amount to be invested (commitment amount) after coordinating with other prospective investors.
Step5
Application
The investor signs the documents and enters into a contract.
Step6
Wire transfer
The investor to make payments of the commitment amount plus relevant fees.The first 50% of the committed amount must be paid in, with the remaining 50% to be paid later, depending on the fund's capital needs.
FAQ
If you have any questions, please check here.
Alternative investment funds have investor requirements. Investors who meet requirements such as attributes of their asset status are eligible to trade. Specifically, investors who are classified as specified investors are eligible.
You can get started as an investor with LUCA platform by contacting us with the form above and find out if you qualify to invest as an accredited investor.
No. Both Japan and offshore products are within our scope of investments.
Alternative investments such as private equity, venture capital, private debt, real estate and infrastructure funds. We plan to offer a broader range of alternative products in the future.
The performance of your investments ismanaged and disclosed through LUCA platform.
Asset holding period varies by product but in general, redemption of the shares is not allowed.
We are in the process of preparing for launch. For the latest update please sign up to our newsletter or get in touch through the form below.
News
LUCA Team
Keiko Sydenham
Keiko has been involved in alternative investments since 2003, and after heading institutional investor relations at a U.S.-based asset management firm in Japan in 2007, she became the head of the Alternative Investment Strategy Office at JP Morgan Asset Management. She then worked as a Managing Director at Blackstone Group before joining LUCA as a founding member in 2021.
Motoya Kitamura
Motoya has worked for private equity fund management companies in Japan and abroad since 2005, including Macquarie Group, based in Tokyo and Hong Kong. Published "Introduction to Private Equity (PE) Investment for Individual Investors" (Chuokeizai-sha, Inc.) in October 2022.
After serving as CTO of Macromedia Japan and CEO Advisor to Macromedia in the U.S., Akio headed international venture investment at Adobe. Joined Infinity Ventures LLP as co-head partner, rebranded to Headline Asia in 2021. Executed an early-stage investment in a fintech unicorn.
Please open an account to view investment opportunities.
