ISHARES MSCI JAPAN INDEX FUND $9.99 (American 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 fund’s top holdings include Toyota Motor, 5.1%; Mitsubishi UFJ Financial, 2.9%; Honda Motor, 2.7%; Canon, 2.2%; Sumitomo Mitsui Financial, 2.1%; Mizuho Financial Group, 1.7%; Takeda Pharmaceutical, 1.6%; Mitsubishi Corporation, 1.5%; Fanuc Corp., 1.5%; and Mitsui & Co., 1.3%.
The fund’s industry breakdown is as follows: Industrials, 21.3%; Consumer Discretionary, 20.0%; Financials, 17.8%; Information Technology, 12.2%; Materials, 7.1%; Health Care, 6.1%; Consumer Staples, 5.9%; Telecommunication Services, 4.1%; Utilities, 3.6%; and Energy, 1.8%.
iShares MSCI Japan Index Fund was launched on March 12, 1996. Its expense ratio is 0.51%.
Japan is still recovering from the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami, which slowed the country’s exports to its major trading partners, including Europe and the U.S. The soaring yen is also hurting exports. Still, we continue to believe that Japan’s economy will overcome these setbacks. That will benefit shares of high-quality Japanese companies.
iShares MSCI Japan Index Fund is a buy.
