Japanese Equities Getting a Lot of Investor Attention
Posted by Gregg Killoren on February 9, 2010
Even though the Nikkei 225 index recently dropped below the 10,000 mark for the first time in two months, investors have been pouring money into Japanese shares, according to a Financial Times report. January saw overseas investors snap up Japanese equities at the fastest pace in three years. This was mostly due to large asset managers shifting funds to Japan from underweight positions.
One reason asset managers would rebalance toward Japan and away from the U.S. and China is simply that Japan’s market was among the worst performers last year, and even though the country is not poised for a dramatic turnaround (Toyota’s problems underscore that statement), there is a feeling that things can only get better. Thus, Japanese shares may offer potential growth, due to their current depressed levels, that other developed countries do not.
Individual investors looking for exposure to Japan with some diversification may consider the iShares MSCI Japan exchange-traded fund (symbol: EWJ).
