Bloomo finally launches in Japan

Bloomo, a startup developing an asset building app focusing on US stocks/ETFs that had raised a JPY 800m seed round in April 2023, and announced that it has completed the registration as a Type 1 Financial Instruments Business Operator (FIBO) in June 2023, has declared that it is finally ready for a limited release of its app to waitlist participants.

This limited early release is being conducted to provide value to customers with particularly strong interest, while maintaining service quality by limiting the number of users. Going forward, Bloomo plans to expand the invitation slots towards general public release, while continuing to improve the service. The general public release of “Bloomo” is scheduled for Spring 2024. As of February 2024, around 1,500 people have registered on the waitlist.

With the start of the limited early release, Bloomo has added a “Portfolio Sharing” feature, which allows users to view official portfolios created by Bloomo as well as portfolios that other users are actually investing in, and copy them with one tap to their own “Target Portfolio”.

This allows even novice investors to easily mimic experienced investors and start investing, while those with some investment experience can gain insights for their future portfolio management by comparing their performance with other investors.

About Bloomo

“Bloomo” is a securities service for long-term asset building that allows investing in U.S. stocks and ETFs from a smartphone. A key feature is that it enables easy and secure asset building for everyone from beginners to experienced investors. Some of the main functions are:

1. Target Portfolio
   The “Target Portfolio” allows you to first decide your ideal asset allocation, then deposit funds and start investing. Specify the stocks/ETFs and allocation percentages (= target) you want to invest in, and Bloomo will calculate and execute the necessary currency conversions and trades to realize that target.
2. Portfolio Sharing
   “Portfolio Sharing” allows you to see what kinds of portfolios experts and other users are investing in. You can copy any portfolio you like with one tap, and start investing right away. You can also copy a portfolio and then modify or customize it.
3. Rebalancing
   “Rebalancing” allows you to easily sell overweight positions and buy underweight ones to restore your target asset allocation ratios. Even if your portfolio drifts from targets due to price movements, you can tap a button to rebalance back to your targets. When making new deposits, it also calculates the gaps from your targets and invests to fill those gaps, allowing you to stay on track.

Towards the general public launch, Bloomo plans to add an auto-investment function, allowing you to use your own custom portfolios for automated recurring investments. Bloomo also aims to support the new NISA tax-exempt accounts by the end of this year, enabling tax-advantaged asset building.

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