An exchange traded fund issuer that is likely unknown to most managers at this juncture, Precidian Investments, launched a unique fund focused on the Nikkei 225 Index of Japan in July of this year.
MAXIS Nikkei 225 Index (NYSEArca: NKY) has been rather popular among ETF portfolio managers since inception, averaging 159,000 shares in daily trading volume since its recent inception date and it has gathered $138 million in assets already.
Investors are likely familiar with the Nikkei Index itself as a barometer of what the Japanese equity market is doing, as it is routinely featured in the TV media, and NKY gives portfolio managers a way to tangibly get exposure to this index.
From an index construction standpoint, the Nikkei 225 Index is price weighted as opposed to market capitalization weighted like iShares MSCI Japan (NYSEArca: EWJ) is, so the make-up of equity holdings in the two portfolios looks very different when compared side to side.
Top holdings in NKY include Fanuc Ltd., Fast Retailing Company, and Softbank Corp., while EWJ’s top weightings are names like Honda, Mitsubishi, and Toyota.
Since inception, NKY is down 9.41% versus EWJ losing 10.44% during the same time period.
MAXIS Nikkei 225 Index
Chart source: StockCharts.com.
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