TOKYO, July 30 Reuters Nomura Holdings, Japan39;s largest brokerage and investment bank, reported a 195 jump in firstquarter profit on Tuesday as the rally in global markets and return of domestic inflation bolstered demand for its wealth management services.

The results show the progress Nomura has made in shifting toward a feesbased profit model in order to secure more consistent revenue that is less subject to market swings.

Nomura said net profit in the AprilJune period was 68.9 billion yen 446 million versus 23.3 billion yen a year earlier.

The end of deflation in Japan has encouraged retail clients to move into investment products, Nomura39;s chief financial officer Takumi Kitamura told a media briefing.

The major update to our business structure since last spring and the shift in our customers39; mindset from savings to investment has meant we were able to achieve strong results, Kitamura said.

Alongside this, the global market rally led to improved client sentiment and higher sales of U.S. and global stock funds, Nomura said.

Pretax income in the wealth management segment grew 84 compared to the same period the previous year to reach its highest since the 201516 financial year.

Nomura has a dominant position in wealth management in Japan and the business accounted for roughly half its pretax profit in the previous financial year.

Inflows into Nomura39;s investment management business pushed assets under management to a record 92.5 trillion yen while its…