Goldman Sachs loses top position in Japan

Fidelity Investments has replaced New York-based Goldman Sachs & Co. as the largest foreign manager of Japanese investment trusts. As of August, Goldman Sachs had $6.4 billion in Japanese assets in investment trusts, down from $14.7 billion two years ago. Fidelity, a Cincinnati-based fund manager, has increased its assets from $1.4 billion in 1998 to $7.4 billion as of August.

Goldman Sachs lost its top standing largely due to a wave of redemptions of its Japanese funds. The two companies use different tactics to acquire Japanese assets. Goldman Sachs specializes in offering foreign bond funds through a limited number of brokers, while Fidelity has focused intensively on Japanese equity and developed a wider pool of distributors.