MS&AD Insurance (8725): The 2026 Hub Analysis for Megabanks & Insurance

I’ve been watching MS&AD’s Japanese-language IR releases more closely than usual this spring — the May 20 earnings drop included a Management Plan document that English-language aggregators summarized in two paragraphs, but the Japanese original runs to dozens of slides detailing exactly how ¥787 billion in net income gets recycled back to shareholders. That gap between what’s in the Japanese source and what makes it into English coverage is precisely why I think this stock deserves a full pillar treatment right now.

Metric	Value (as of May 22, 2026)
Stock Price (JPY)	¥4,188
Dividend Yield	2.62%
P/E Ratio (TTM)	8.7×
Market Cap	¥6.26 trillion
Payout Ratio	21.4%
FY2025 Net Income (YoY)	¥787.3B (+13.8%)
Net Premiums Written	¥4,674.3B
Shareholder Return Policy	50% of Group adjusted profit
Strategic Equity Unwind Deadline	March 2030
TSE Listing	Prime Market

Most English-language coverage of MS&AD Insurance Group Holdings (8725) treats it as a straightforward domestic non-life insurer — steady premiums, occasional catastrophe losses, a modest dividend. That framing misses three structural developments unfolding simultaneously in 2026: a regulatory-forced capital release worth potentially hundreds of billions of yen, a $1.4 billion move into U.S. asset management, and a shareholder return policy that is currently returning far less than its stated ceiling. This pillar article builds the complete thesis from Japanese-language primary sources and frames it for the US-based dividend investor deciding whether to allocate to Japanese financials.

Disclaimer: I may or may not hold positions in 8725 (MS&AD Insurance). This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice. See full Disclaimer.

Why Japan’s Non-Life Insurance Sector Is Repricing Right Now

Japan’s non-life insurance sector spent most of the 2010s as an afterthought for international investors — low yields, cross-shareholding webs, and opaque governance kept valuations depressed. That is changing rapidly, and the catalyst is regulatory rather than cyclical.

From Price-Fixing Scandal to Governance Overhaul — the FSA Inflection Point

In December 2023, Japan’s Financial Services Agency (FSA / 金融庁) issued business improvement orders (業務改善命令) against MS&AD and its major non-life peers following a price-fixing investigation. English-language outlets — Reuters, Bloomberg — treated this as a one-time scandal and moved on.

What they missed: the FSA’s administrative guidance triggered a structural governance reset. MS&AD responded with a binding corporate pledge to reduce all listed strategic equity holdings (政策保有株式) to zero by the end of March 2030. This is not aspirational language — it is documented in MS&AD’s Japanese-language IR disclosures and referenced in the company’s May 2026 Management Plan.

Strategic equity holdings — cross-shareholdings held for relationship purposes rather than investment returns — have long been a drag on Japanese insurers’ ROE and a source of governance opacity. The FSA’s December 2023 orders accelerated a process the TSE had already been pushing through its PBR improvement campaign. For MS&AD, the unwind is now a legal and regulatory commitment, not a voluntary target.

Structural Tailwinds: Why Non-Life Premiums Are Growing Despite a Shrinking Japan

Japan’s population is declining, but non-life insurance premiums are not. Three dynamics explain this:

• Premium repricing: Auto and fire insurance rates have been revised upward to reflect higher repair costs and inflation in construction materials — a tailwind for net premiums written.
• International expansion: MS&AD’s overseas operations in emerging Asia provide volume growth that domestic Japan cannot.
• Investment income diversification: Rising global interest rates have improved returns on the float — the pool of premiums held before claims are paid — a dynamic that mirrors what US P&C insurers experienced in 2022-2024.

The headwind is climate. Japan’s typhoon and flood frequency is rising, and the actuarial challenge of pricing climate risk into multi-year policies is real. Best’s News reported in May 2026 that MS&AD’s management explicitly flagged the need for the industry to respond to “dramatic changes” — language that acknowledges climate cost estimation as an ongoing margin risk.

For the US dividend investor, the sector analogy is a Japanese version of a US P&C insurer like Travelers or Chubb — mature domestic franchise, international growth optionality, and investment income as a second earnings engine. MS&AD trades at a significant discount to those US peers on a PER basis.

MS&AD’s Competitive Moat Among Japan’s Non-Life Big Three

Japan’s non-life insurance market is effectively an oligopoly of three groups: Tokio Marine Holdings (8766), SOMPO Holdings (8630), and MS&AD. Understanding where MS&AD sits in that triad matters for position sizing.

Mitsui Sumitomo + Aioi Nissay Dowa — Two Brands, One Capital Pool

MS&AD’s domestic non-life business operates through two distinct subsidiaries: Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Co., Ltd. (the commercial and international-facing brand) and Aioi Nissay Dowa Insurance Co., Ltd. (the retail auto and personal lines brand, affiliated with Toyota). This dual-brand structure gives MS&AD broad distribution reach — corporate clients through Mitsui Sumitomo, mass-market auto through Aioi Nissay Dowa — while sharing a single capital and reinsurance pool.

The group’s consolidated figures reflect this scale: net premiums written of ¥4,674.3 billion as of March 31, 2025, consolidated total assets of ¥26,241.2 billion, and 38,247 employees. By net premiums written, MS&AD is the second-largest non-life group in Japan, behind Tokio Marine.

Tokio Marine is the clear global scale leader — its international operations, particularly in the US (Philadelphia Consolidated, Delphi Financial), generate a larger share of group profit than MS&AD’s international segment. SOMPO is the closest domestic peer, with a similar split between domestic non-life and international expansion. MS&AD’s differentiator is the Aioi Nissay Dowa Toyota relationship and, increasingly, the Barings asset-management angle.

Why the Absence of 優待 (Yūtai) Is Actually a Bullish Signal

MS&AD does not offer 株主優待 (kabunushi yutai) — the shareholder benefit programs common among Japanese consumer-facing companies. For a US investor, this needs brief context: yutai programs typically offer product vouchers, discount coupons, or gift sets to retail shareholders, and they can dilute the economic return for large institutional holders.

The absence of yutai at MS&AD signals that management is focused on direct financial returns — dividends and buybacks — rather than retail-investor perks. Combined with the explicit 50%-of-adjusted-profit return policy, this is a capital-allocation posture that a US dividend investor should recognize as aligned with their interests.

Reading the Monthly Sales Data Before the Crowd Does

Here is an edge that is genuinely hard to replicate without reading Japanese: MS&AD publishes 月次売上高 (monthly sales data) on its Japanese-language IR site approximately six weeks before quarterly earnings. The April 2026 data was released on May 11, 2026 — nine days before the May 20 earnings announcement.

This cadence gives Japanese-reading investors a leading indicator on premium growth trends before English-language aggregators pick it up. Tokio Marine does not publish equivalent monthly granularity on its English IR. Monitoring this data on TradingView’s chart overlay alongside the monthly releases can help investors anticipate earnings direction.

For readers who want to track this themselves: bookmark the Japanese IR page linked above and set a calendar reminder for the 10th-12th of each month, when the prior month’s data typically drops.

Valuation Deep-Dive — PER 8.7× and the Hidden Buyback Engine

At ¥4,188 per share (May 22, 2026), MS&AD trades at a PER of 8.7×. For context, US P&C insurers like Travelers trade at 14-16× earnings. Even allowing for Japan’s structural discount, 8.7× looks cheap for a company with a binding capital-return policy and a structural catalyst in the equity unwind.

Deconstructing the 50%-Return Policy — Dividends vs. Buybacks

MS&AD’s stated policy is to return 50% of Group adjusted profit through a combination of dividends and share buybacks. The current dividend yield of 2.62% with a payout ratio of only 21.4% creates an apparent contradiction — if the policy is 50%, why is the payout ratio so low?

The answer is in the definition of “adjusted profit.” MS&AD’s Japanese-language Management Plan (経営計画), released May 20, 2026, uses a specific adjusted profit figure that excludes certain one-time items and mark-to-market movements. The 21.4% payout ratio is calculated against reported net income; the 50% return ratio is calculated against the narrower adjusted profit base. The swing variable is buybacks — and MS&AD announced a new share buyback program on May 20, 2026 alongside the FY2025 earnings.

For the dividend investor, the key takeaway is this: the ordinary dividend has a no-cut pledge. The 50% return policy means excess capital above the dividend goes to buybacks, which support the share price floor. This is structurally similar to how US insurers like Progressive manage capital returns — dividend as the base, buybacks as the variable top-up.

What “Stable Profit” Guidance Really Means in Japanese Corporate Speak

Morningstar flagged MS&AD’s FY2026 guidance as “lackluster” despite the FY2025 beat. Management used the phrase “stable profit” — 安定的な利益 in Japanese IR language — which is a deliberate signal that FY2026 is expected to be a consolidation year rather than a growth year.

In Japanese corporate communication, “stable profit” is not a warning — it is a commitment not to cut. It signals management’s confidence that the earnings base is durable while acknowledging that the exceptional FY2025 tailwinds (strong investment income, favorable catastrophe experience) may not fully repeat. For a dividend investor, “stable profit” with a no-cut dividend pledge is actually a reasonable outcome.

The risk is if “stable” proves optimistic. MarketBeat’s earnings tracker shows the May 20, 2026 report beat consensus — but consensus for FY2026 has not yet been stress-tested against a severe Japan catastrophe season.

Sensitivity Table — How Strategic Equity Unwind Releases Capital

The strategic equity unwind is the most underappreciated element of the bull case. Here is the logic in simplified form:

Scenario	Equity Unwind Pace	Capital Released (Estimated)	Likely Use
Base case	Linear over 4 years (FY2026–FY2030)	Significant annual tranches	Buybacks + balance sheet strength
Accelerated	Front-loaded in FY2026–FY2027	Larger near-term tranches	Buyback surge, PER compression
Delayed / market downturn	Slower selling into weak market	Reduced near-term release	Minimal buyback impact; dividend unchanged

The exact yen value of MS&AD’s remaining strategic equity portfolio is not disclosed in English-language summaries — it requires reading the Japanese 有価証券報告書 (annual securities report) filed on EDINET. What is confirmed: the pledge is to zero, and the timeline is binding. Even a conservative unwind pace should generate meaningful buyback capacity above the current dividend commitment.

The Barings Deal — MS&AD’s $1.4 Billion Bet on Global Asset Management

On May 16, 2026, Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance completed the acquisition of an 18% stake in Barings — the US-based asset manager with $481 billion in AUM — for $1.4 billion from MassMutual. MassMutual retains 82% of Barings; the deal establishes a strategic partnership rather than a controlling interest.

Why an Insurer Buying an Asset Manager Makes Structural Sense

The logic mirrors what Berkshire Hathaway has long understood: insurance float — the pool of premiums collected before claims are paid — is essentially free capital that can be invested for returns above the risk-free rate. The larger and more sophisticated the investment operation managing that float, the better the long-run economics of the insurance business.

MS&AD’s Japanese-language press release on the Barings acquisition details a dimension that Caproasia’s English summary omits: Barings’ fixed-income and alternative credit capabilities are intended to be deployed in managing MS&AD’s own insurance float, not just as a passive equity investment. This is an operational integration, not a financial holding.

For the US investor, the analogy is partial: think of it as a Japanese insurer buying a minority stake in a PIMCO or BlackRock fixed-income operation specifically to upgrade its own float management. The fee income from Barings’ external AUM is the bonus; the float management upgrade is the core strategic rationale.

Barings’ $481 Billion AUM — What 18% Buys MS&AD in Practice

At 18%, MS&AD is a significant minority shareholder but not a controller. What does this buy in practice?

• Board representation: Minority stakes of this size typically come with board observer or director rights — giving MS&AD visibility into Barings’ investment strategy and pipeline.
• Preferred access to strategies: The strategic partnership framework likely includes preferred allocation rights to Barings’ private credit, infrastructure, and real estate strategies — asset classes that are attractive for long-duration insurance liabilities.
• Fee income participation: 18% of Barings’ profit attributable to MS&AD will appear in MS&AD’s equity-method investment income line — a relatively small but growing contribution to group earnings.

At $481 billion AUM, Barings is a mid-tier global asset manager — not a BlackRock, but substantial enough to move the needle on MS&AD’s investment income over a multi-year horizon. The $1.4 billion price tag implies a valuation of approximately $7.8 billion for 100% of Barings — a reasonable multiple for a fixed-income-heavy manager with institutional client relationships.

Emerging Asia + U.S. Fee Income — Mapping the International Growth Runway

MS&AD’s international strategy has two distinct legs. The first is organic growth in emerging Asia — Southeast Asian markets where insurance penetration is low and middle-class growth is driving demand for auto, health, and property coverage. The second, now accelerated by the Barings deal, is fee income from U.S. asset management.

The MS&AD Group Management Plan (released May 20, 2026 in Japanese) identifies international operations as a core growth pillar in the FY2030 vision. The Barings stake is the most concrete expression of that ambition to date. For a US investor, this means MS&AD’s earnings mix will gradually shift away from pure domestic Japanese underwriting toward a more diversified international financial services profile — reducing the Japan-specific weather and demographic risk concentration.

This also has FX implications worth noting: Barings’ fee income will be denominated in USD, providing a natural partial hedge against yen appreciation that would otherwise erode JPY-denominated returns for international investors.

Risks and Counter-View — Three Reasons the Bull Case Could Stall

A constructive stance on MS&AD requires underwriting three specific risks. Generic disclaimers about “market volatility” are not useful — here are the three material risks that could derail the thesis.

Risk 1 — FY2026 Guidance Disappointment

Morningstar’s post-earnings commentary explicitly characterized FY2026 guidance as “lackluster” despite the FY2025 beat. Management’s “stable profit” language may mask margin compression from two sources: rising natural-disaster claims and climate-related reserve builds that are difficult to model accurately.

If adjusted profit in FY2026 comes in below FY2025 levels, the 50% return policy delivers less capital than the bull case assumes. The buyback announced May 20 provides a near-term floor, but a sustained profit miss would force a reassessment of the fair-value estimate. The next major data point is Q1 FY2026 earnings, expected around August 2026.

Risk 2 — Natural Disaster and Climate Cost Estimation

Japan’s typhoon and flood frequency is structurally increasing. MS&AD’s domestic non-life business is the primary exposure. The actuarial challenge is not just the frequency of events — it is the difficulty of pricing multi-year policies against a changing climate baseline.

A severe Japan catastrophe season in FY2026 — analogous to the US hurricane seasons that periodically compress P&C insurer margins — could force reserve strengthening and compress underwriting margins in the core domestic segment. This risk is partially mitigated by reinsurance, but large events still flow through to the group P&L. Domestic Japanese analyst reports from firms like Nomura and Daiwa (available via Japanese brokerage platforms) have flagged this as a key sensitivity in their FY2026 models.

Risk 3 — Strategic Equity Unwind Execution Risk

The pledge to reduce strategic equity holdings to zero by March 2030 is a catalyst — but execution risk is real. Forced selling into a thin market, or equity price declines in held positions before they are sold, could generate mark-to-market losses that offset underwriting gains in any given fiscal year.

The regulatory timeline is binding, not optional. If Japanese equity markets enter a sustained correction between now and 2030, MS&AD faces a difficult choice: sell at depressed prices to meet the deadline, or seek regulatory forbearance that may not be granted. Domestic analyst reports have flagged the unwind pace as potentially slower than TSE guidance implies — a nuance absent from English-language sell-side coverage.

Additionally, the Barings stake introduces USD/JPY FX risk into MS&AD’s balance sheet. A sharp yen appreciation could reduce the JPY value of the $1.4 billion investment and compress the USD-denominated fee income contribution. For US investors holding MS&AD in JPY, this is a secondary consideration — but it matters for MS&AD’s own reported financials.

MS&AD 2026 Scorecard — Catalysts, Timeline, and Position Sizing

For the value and dividend investor, the thesis has a clear catalyst calendar. Here is how to structure monitoring and position sizing around it.

12-Month Catalyst Calendar — What to Watch and When

Timing	Catalyst	Bull Signal	Bear Signal
Monthly (10th-12th)	月次売上高 (monthly sales data) on Japanese IR	Premium growth acceleration	Sequential deceleration
August 2026	Q1 FY2026 earnings	Adjusted profit on track vs. “stable” guidance	Miss vs. “stable” — forces guidance cut
Ongoing FY2026	Strategic equity unwind disclosures	Accelerated selling pace → buyback fuel	Slower pace → delayed capital release
FY2026 full year (May 2027)	Annual earnings + FY2027 guidance	Barings fee income appearing in segment data	Climate reserve build compresses margins
March 2030 (anchor)	Strategic equity at zero	Full capital release realized	Regulatory forbearance granted — thesis delayed

Entry, Add, and Exit Triggers for Value and Dividend Investors

For a US-based investor building a Japan financial allocation, MS&AD fits as a complement to a megabank position — not a substitute. The income profile (2.62% yield, no-cut dividend pledge) is lower than SMFG or Mizuho on a pure yield basis, but the governance re-rating catalyst and the Barings growth angle provide a different return driver.

Compared to a US dividend ETF like SCHD, MS&AD offers a lower current yield but a more compressed valuation (8.7× PER vs. SCHD’s typical 15-18× blended multiple), a binding buyback program, and exposure to a governance reform story that has no US equivalent. For an IRA or taxable brokerage account, the JPY/USD FX exposure is the primary sizing consideration — position size should reflect your overall currency allocation to Japan, not just the stock-specific thesis.

A reasonable framework: initiate a starter position at current levels (¥4,188), monitor the August 2026 Q1 earnings for confirmation that “stable profit” guidance holds, and add on any pullback toward ¥3,800-¥3,900 that is not driven by a fundamental earnings miss. The no-cut dividend pledge provides an income floor that limits downside for patient holders. Exit trigger: sustained adjusted profit misses that call into question the 50% return policy, or a regulatory reversal on the strategic equity unwind timeline.

For broader context on how MS&AD fits within a Japan financial allocation, see Mizuho Financial Group (8411): The 2026 Hub Analysis for Megabanks & Insurance and How U.S. Investors Can Buy Sumitomo Mitsui (8316) at 4%+ — both cover the megabank side of the Japan financial thesis that complements this insurance allocation.

Bottom Line — MS&AD at ¥4,188 Is a Governance Re-Rating Story with a Dividend Floor

Author’s View: Constructive. The investment case for MS&AD at current levels rests on three pillars that are simultaneously underappreciated in English-language coverage.

First, the valuation is genuinely cheap. PER 8.7× for a company with a binding 50%-of-adjusted-profit return policy, a no-cut dividend pledge, and a structural capital-release catalyst (the strategic equity unwind) is not a value trap — it is a governance discount that is being actively compressed by regulatory mandate.

Second, the Barings deal changes the long-term earnings mix in a way that the market has not yet priced. Fee income from $481 billion in AUM, plus the float management upgrade from Barings’ fixed-income capabilities, adds a growth engine that is entirely absent from the domestic-insurer framing that dominates English coverage.

Third, the income floor is credible. The 21.4% payout ratio against a 50% return policy means the dividend is extremely well-covered. Even if FY2026 adjusted profit disappoints modestly, the ordinary dividend is structurally protected. The buyback announced May 20 adds a price-support mechanism that dividend-only analysis misses.

The near-term watch item is the August 2026 Q1 FY2026 earnings release. If “stable profit” guidance proves credible and the strategic equity unwind pace accelerates, the ¥4,800 fair-value estimate — implying approximately 14.5% upside from current levels plus the dividend — is achievable within 12 months. If the FY2026 catastrophe season is severe, revisit sizing before adding.

Set a monthly alert for the Japanese IR site’s 月次売上高 release. That is the earliest leading indicator available to any investor — and right now, it is only accessible to those reading Japanese sources directly.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What is MS&AD Insurance’s current dividend yield and is the dividend safe?

As of May 22, 2026, MS&AD (8725) yields approximately 2.62% at ¥4,188 per share. The payout ratio is only 21.4% of reported net income, and the company has an explicit policy of not reducing ordinary dividends. The 50%-of-adjusted-profit return policy means excess capital above the dividend flows to buybacks rather than dividend increases — making the dividend highly secure but limiting near-term yield growth. For US investors, Japanese withholding tax of 15% (under the US-Japan tax treaty) applies, reducing the net yield to approximately 2.23% before any foreign tax credit reclaim.

Q: How does the strategic equity unwind affect MS&AD’s earnings?

MS&AD has pledged to reduce all listed strategic equity holdings (政策保有株式 — cross-shareholdings held for relationship rather than investment purposes) to zero by March 2030. As these holdings are sold, the proceeds become available for buybacks or balance sheet strengthening. In years when the sold positions have appreciated, gains flow through the P&L; in years of market weakness, sales could generate losses. The net effect over the full unwind period should be capital-positive, but individual fiscal years may show volatility. This is the primary reason why monitoring the quarterly IR disclosures on unwind progress is important.

Q: Can I buy MS&AD (8725) through my US brokerage — Fidelity, Schwab, or IBKR?

MS&AD trades on the Tokyo Stock Exchange Prime Market under ticker 8725. Direct TSE access is available through Interactive Brokers (IBKR) for US investors — this is the most straightforward route for direct JPY-denominated share ownership. Fidelity and Schwab do not currently offer direct TSE access for retail US clients. An OTC ADR (ticker MSADY) trades on US markets, providing USD-denominated exposure without a Japanese brokerage account, though ADR liquidity is lower and the spread wider than the TSE listing. For serious position sizes, IBKR direct TSE access is preferable.

Q: What is the JPY/USD FX risk and how should I think about sizing?

Holding MS&AD in JPY exposes US investors to yen/dollar fluctuations. A 10% yen depreciation against the USD erases approximately 10% of the USD return from the position, regardless of stock performance. The partial natural hedge is the Barings deal — MS&AD’s USD-denominated Barings investment means some of its earnings are USD-linked, which partially offsets yen weakness at the company level. For position sizing, most US Japan-allocation frameworks suggest keeping Japan equity exposure to 5-15% of a diversified portfolio, with individual stock positions sized at 1-3% of total portfolio value to manage currency concentration risk.

Q: How does MS&AD compare to Tokio Marine (8766) for a US dividend investor?

Tokio Marine is Japan’s largest non-life insurer with a more established global footprint — particularly in the US market through its Philadelphia Consolidated and Delphi acquisitions. It trades at a premium to MS&AD on a PER basis, reflecting its track record of international execution. MS&AD offers a cheaper entry valuation (PER 8.7× vs. Tokio Marine’s higher multiple), the specific governance re-rating catalyst from the strategic equity unwind, and the Barings asset-management angle as a differentiated growth driver. For a US investor choosing between the two, Tokio Marine is the lower-risk, higher-quality choice; MS&AD is the higher-upside, governance-catalyst choice. A basket approach — holding both — is also reasonable within a Japan financial allocation.

How to Buy MS&AD Insurance (8725) as an International Investor

MS&AD Insurance Group Holdings trades on the Tokyo Stock Exchange Prime Market under ticker 8725. There is no sponsored ADR program, though an OTC ADR (ticker MSADY) trades on US over-the-counter markets with limited liquidity. For most international investors, direct TSE access via a global broker is the preferred route.

International investors can access 8725 directly through:

• Saxo Bank — full TSE coverage, available in Singapore, Japan, Europe, and most countries. Strong platform for Japan equity access. Preferred broker for our Singapore/Asia-based readers.
• Interactive Brokers (IBKR) — direct TSE access, competitive JPY/USD spread, available in US and most countries. Strong choice for US-based investors seeking direct 8725 ownership in JPY.
• Webull — lower minimums, growing TSE coverage, good for smaller position sizes. US investors new to Japanese equities may find the interface more accessible.

Tax notes by country:

• Singapore: No capital gains tax on Japan stocks. Japanese dividends are subject to 20.315% withholding (15% when the Japan-Singapore tax treaty applies via your broker). Net dividend received after withholding — check with your broker on treaty reclaim procedures.
• United States: Japanese dividend withholding is 15% under the US-Japan tax treaty; claimable as a foreign tax credit on IRS Form 1116. MSADY ADR holders face similar 15% withholding plus a small custody fee. Holding 8725 in an IRA is possible via IBKR, but foreign tax credits are not claimable inside a tax-deferred account — factor this into your account-type decision.
• Other countries: Withholding rates vary by treaty. Check Japan’s National Tax Agency treaty list or consult your broker.

Account opening eligibility varies by country of residence. I am not affiliated with these brokers; this is general information only. Always verify current terms directly with the broker.

For further reading on Japan financial sector positioning, see How U.S. Investors Can Clone Buffett’s $27B Japan Trade for the broader sogo shosha and financial context, and Mizuho Financial Group (8411): The 2026 Hub Analysis for Megabanks & Insurance for the megabank complement to this insurance allocation.

Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice under FTC 16 CFR Part 255. Opinions are my own and not investment advice. I may or may not hold positions in 8725 (MS&AD Insurance Group Holdings). All data as of May 2026. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Currency fluctuations between JPY and USD can materially affect returns for US-based investors. Always conduct your own due diligence and consult a qualified financial advisor before making investment decisions. Full Disclaimer.