What Mitsubishi Asset Brains does

Mitsubishi Asset Brains (MAB) is a Tokyo-based B2B financial services firm established on December 25, 1998, by four Mitsubishi Group financial institutions (MUFJ Bank, MUFJ Trust Bank, Tokio Marine & Nichido Fire Insurance, and Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance) as Japan's first dedicated investment trust evaluation company. MAB operates across three integrated revenue streams: (1) investment trust evaluation services — qualitative and quantitative fund ratings, due diligence, monitoring sheets, and biannual evaluation reports delivered to asset managers, securities distributors, and DC plan operators; (2) IT solutions — the ASSET DIRECTION wealth management advisory platform (on-premise and cloud SaaS) deployed at over 20 regional banks, plus the Mirai no Shisan robo-advisor co-developed with MUFJ Trust Bank; and (3) asset management advisory — fund-of-funds discretionary management and institutional investor consulting, supported by an investment management license obtained in 2018.

MAB's underlying technology stack centers on a proprietary qualitative scoring framework (investment policy, process, structure, organizational risk management, governance, and corporate foundation), the MAB-FPI daily fund performance index, and the ASSET DIRECTION CLOUD ADVANCE platform that visualizes client asset portfolios and simulates allocation changes. Pricing is not publicly disclosed; the company operates a B2B enterprise sales model selling subscriptions, licenses, professional services, and data feeds directly to financial institutions with on-site consultant deployment. Customers include major Japanese banks, regional banks (over 20 ASSET DIRECTION adopters), Nippon Life Insurance, and DC plan operators, with MAB's evaluation standards widely cited as the de facto standard in Japan's investment trust industry. As of July 2025, MAB had 48 employees and JPY 480 million in registered capital.

Name

Mitsubishi Asset Brains

Legal name

三菱アセット・ブレインズ株式会社

Website

https://mab.jp

Company type

Private

Founded year

1998

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Mitsubishi Asset Brains provides investment trust evaluation, due diligence, monitoring, and B2B wealth management IT solutions (ASSET DIRECTION, Mirai no Shisan robo-advisor) to Japanese banks, securities firms, asset managers, and DC pension operators, with proprietary data covering 2,000+ funds.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Investment Trust Evaluation and Asset Management Advisory Services

NAICS

Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (523940), Open-End Investment Funds (525910)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro primary industry

Robo-Advice for Institutional/Treasury (OCIO-lite, Cash & Liquidity) (FSAGAEAJ)

akta.pro secondary industry

Fund Services & NAV Support (Fund Accounting Interfaces) (FSAFALAJ)

Keywords

• Investment trust evaluation
• Asset management advisory
• Wealth management software
• Fund due diligence
• Defined contribution pensions

Headquarters

HQ city

Tokyo

HQ country

Japan

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Investment Trust Evaluation Services: Core business providing qualitative and quantitative evaluation of investment trusts to asset management companies, securities sales companies, and DC plan operators. Includes evaluation reports, due diligence reports, monitoring reports, and research reports with ratings assigned by analysts.
2. IT Solutions (ASSET DIRECTION, Mirai no Shisan): Provides proprietary IT systems to financial institutions for wealth management advisory support and robo-advisory services. Sold as licensed software/technology solutions to banks and securities firms.
3. Asset Management Advisory Services: Provides fund-of-funds discretionary investment management and investment advisory services. Also offers investment consulting to investors, asset management companies, schools, and public institutions including policy asset mix, style allocation, fund selection, and ongoing monitoring.
4. Training and Seminar Services: Sends lecturers for seminars on investment trusts and finance to banks, securities firms, and corporate HR departments engaged in defined contribution pensions. Customized to client needs.
5. Data and Content Provision: Provides various investment trust-related data and content to financial institutions, DC plan operator websites, WEB media, and sales brochures on an order-made basis.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

MAB provides investment trust evaluation services (qualitative scoring and quantitative risk/performance analysis of mutual funds), asset management advisory services (Fund-of-Funds management and investor consulting), proprietary IT solutions for wealth management (ASSET DIRECTION, ASSET DIRECTION CLOUD ADVANCE, and the Mirai no Shisan robo-advisor), and supporting data/content services such as market reports and ESG evaluation. Its customers are primarily financial institutions in Japan, including banks, securities firms, asset management companies, and DC pension plan operators.

Product overview

Mitsubishi Asset Brains (MAB) operates a multi-product B2B platform centered on investment trust evaluation and advisory services for Japanese financial institutions. The core portfolio consists of (1) Investment Trust Evaluation — qualitative and quantitative evaluation with proprietary ratings, including Due Diligence Reports, MAB Investment Trust Karte, Monitoring Sheets, and MAB Investment Trust Evaluation Reports (biannual); (2) Sales Support IT Solutions — led by ASSET DIRECTION (registered trademark), an on-premise/cloud wealth management sales support system providing customer asset visualization, portfolio analysis, and risk/return simulation; ASSET DIRECTION CLOUD ADVANCE (cloud SaaS version); and Mirai no Shisan (ミライノシサン, registered trademark), a robo-advisor for financial institution websites enabling automated portfolio planning; (3) MAB-FPI — proprietary daily investment return rate index for Japan's publicly offered equity investment trusts with multiple sub-indices; (4) Investment Trust Market Overview — monthly and annual market reports analyzing fund flows, AUM, and trends; and (5) Asset Management Advisory — Fund of Funds discretionary management and investor consulting services. These products are offered as standalone services and integrated solutions to asset management companies, securities sales companies, DC pension operators, and investors, forming an end-to-end investment trust ecosystem.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• ASSET DIRECTION

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 2,000 fund evaluations conducted annually
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers11 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered minor.

• Yokohama Bank (横浜銀行)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 5 January 2026MAB provides consulting services to Yokohama Bank for the planning and development of its 'Goal Design Lab' initiative. The consulting engagement was announced via press release on January 5, 2026.
• Defined Contribution Pension Education Association (確定拠出年金教育協会)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerMAB provides investment trust-related data and content to the DC Education Association's iDeCo Navigator and Tsumitate NISA Navigator websites, which serve individual investors.
• So-Ken (株式会社想研)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerMAB provides investment trust-related data and content to So-Ken's IFA Navigator website (a-ifa.jp), supporting independent financial advisors.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves10 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Others

• Asset Management One: One of Japan's largest asset managers (formed from Daiwa, Mizuho Trust, and Meiji Yasuda asset management units). Comparable as a customer and competitor in the Fund-of-Funds/investment advisory space where MAB provides FoF advisory, though Asset Management One operates as a fund sponsor rather than evaluator.

Broad incumbents

• S&P Global Market Intelligence: Global financial data and analytics provider with substantial fund research, classification, and evaluation capabilities. Overlaps MAB's mutual fund research and proprietary indices at a broader scale and global reach, including Japanese fund coverage.
• Nomura Research Institute: Major Japanese IT services and research firm with a substantial investment trust data, analytics, and asset management consulting practice. Comparable to MAB's combination of investment trust research and proprietary IT platforms serving Japanese financial institutions, but at significantly greater scale and breadth.
• Bloomberg Intelligence: Global financial data, analytics, and research platform with extensive fund analytics and index capabilities used by Japanese institutional investors. Broader than MAB but overlapping in proprietary investment trust indices (analogous to MAB-FPI) and due diligence research.

Regional players

• Daiwa Institute of Research: Japanese financial research and consulting arm of the Daiwa Securities Group, offering asset management advisory, economic research, and investment strategy services. Overlaps with MAB's asset management advisory practice for Japanese institutional and corporate investors.
• Quick Corp: Provider of Japanese corporate and financial information, including investment trust data and analytics through QUICK platforms. Comparable to MAB's data/content provision business, particularly as a third-party data vendor for Japanese asset managers and financial media.

Direct peers

• WealthNavi: Leading Japanese robo-advisor serving retail investors through automated portfolio construction. Directly comparable to MAB's Mirai no Shisan robo-advisor product line, though WealthNavi operates D2C while Mirai no Shisan is deployed through bank partner websites.
• Morningstar Japan: Operates Japan's principal investment fund research, ratings, and analytical data business. Directly comparable to MAB as it evaluates and rates Japanese investment trusts for asset managers, distributors, and institutional investors — overlapping strongly with MAB's evaluation and due diligence offerings.
• Lipper (LSEG / Refinitiv): Global leader in mutual fund classification, performance attribution, and fund research used by asset managers and distributors worldwide, including Japan. Directly comparable to MAB's Lipper-equivalent role in standardized fund categorization, performance analytics, and Lipper Leader–style ratings.

Emerging players

• Money Design: Japanese robo-advisor and asset management firm offering automated portfolio services. Comparable to MAB's Mirai no Shisan robo-advisor, though positioned as a direct-to-consumer service rather than deployed through financial institution partners.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Mitsubishi Asset Brains