ISHARES MSCI JAPAN INDEX FUND $12.04 (New York Exchange symbol EWJ; buy or sell through brokers; us.ishares.com) is an exchange traded fund that tries to match the return of the Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) Japan index.
The ETF’s top holdings include Toyota, 6.1%; Mitsubishi UFJ Financial, 3.1%; Softbank Corp., 3.0%; Honda Motor, 2.5%; Sumitomo Mitsui Financial, 2.4%; Mizuho Financial Group, 1.8%; Hitachi, 1.4%; Takeda Pharmaceutical, 1.3%; Canon, 1.3%; and Mitsubishi Estate Co., 1.3%.
The fund’s industry breakdown is as follows: Financials, 21.5%; Consumer Discretionary, 20.9%; Industrials, 19.3%; Information Technology, 10.4%; Consumer Staples, 6.3%; Health Care, 6.0%; Materials, 5.9%; Telecommunication Services, 5.8%; Utilities, 2.5%; and Energy, 1.2%.
iShares MSCI Japan Index Fund was launched on March 12, 1996. Its expense ratio is 0.49%.
The fund continues to benefit from a lower yen. Under Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s so-called “Abenomics” strategy, the Bank of Japan is pumping more money into the country’s economy, which is why the yen is down. As a result, exports have risen for 10 consecutive months.
The government is raising the sales tax to 8% from 5% in April 2014—but a new $182 billion stimulus package should offset any short-term fall in consumer spending resulting from the tax hike.
iShares MSCI Japan Index Fund is a buy.
