Monex was founded as an Internet securities company, and its digital service delivery has reduced regional differences in access to its services, and its efficient cost structure, which is unique to IT companies, has created an investment environment that is easily accessible to retail investors. Since its establishment in 1999 as an online securities company in Japan to provide retail investors with the same level of financial services and products as institutional investors, Monex has been contributing to the expansion of the "retail investor" population and improving financial access for society as a whole. As a group company, Monex has added TradeStation, an online brokerage firm in the U.S., and Coincheck, one of Japan's largest crypto asset exchanges, to our group, and we are constantly operating and improving our business to deliver new financial services to a wider and more diverse range of individuals.
Policies and Initiatives of Group Companies
Monex Securities started offering stock mini-investment (relaunched as "odd-lot shares" in 2010) soon after its establishment, which allows investors to start investing in stocks with a small amount, and in July 2021, Monex Securities abandoned purchase fees for odd-lot shares. While some stocks in the Japanese market require more than 1 million yen per trading unit, we are strengthening financial access for rettail investors by reducing the trading unit size and waiving some fees. In 2019, Monex Securities also launched "ferci," a social networking service (SNS) type smartphone investment application for young people who frequently use smartphones, with the aim of acquiring first accounts (the first securities account opened by investors) for young people by providing an environment where they can trade domestic stocks from a single share with intuitive operations and a small number of taps.
Monex Activist Fund launched its public offering in June 2020 as a new type of engagement fund for retail investors. Monex Activist Fund aims to revitalize Japan's capital markets and create the future of Japan together with retail investors by engaging in long-term, ongoing dialogue that benefits both investors and issuers from the perspective of promoting the sustainable growth of companies, with the highest priority on contributing to the realization of long-term investment results for Japanese retail investors. .
While the average life expectancy is increasing in many countries, the number of dementia patients aged 65 and over in Japan is expected to reach approximately 7 million by 2025 (1 in 5 people aged 65 and over). The inability to make financial transactions based on one's own judgment due to a decline in cognitive and decision-making functions is a social issue that threatens to hinder the realization of stress-free lifestyles and the formation of sound capital markets in a super-aging society. In this context, Monex Securities has launched the service called "Takusu Kabu" as an online service to support the management of assets such as stocks in the event of dementia and smooth succession of assets in the event of inheritance.
TradeStation has significantly increased the number of accounts and assets under custody through the introduction of a commission-free plan in 2019, the expansion of educational content through the acquisition of YouCanTrade, Inc., an investment education provider, and the rebranding with the aim of expanding its customer base. From FY2021, by investing further in strengthening brand recognition and improving UI/UX, we are working to improve financial access by developing the highly functional tools and superior trading environment that have been supported by active traders to be accessible to a wider range of general retail investors. In addition, by utilizing TradeStation's API (Application Programming Interface) and building alliances with third party' services that are not limited to the financial sector, TradeStation is seeking to further expand the customer base by providing the securities functions of TradeStation to the users of those services. We are pursuing further expansion of our customer base.
With the majority of its users in their 20s and 30s, Coincheck is continuously improving and enhancing its mobile app, which is used by young people on a daily basis, to provide an intuitive UI/UX development for users with little experience in stock trading. In 2021, Coincheck will resume TV commercials to increase brand awareness and strengthen marketing efforts to reach the masses.