Japan ETFs are attracting big 2018 year-to-date flows, especially the iShares MSCI Japan ETF (NYSEArca: EWJ), the largest US-listed exchange traded fund tracking Japanese equities.
Year-to-date, investors have added $2.67 billion to EWJ, good for the eighth-best inflows among all ETFs trading in New York.
While the giant Japan fund is not setting the world on fire in terms of performance, it is attracting investors, including some options traders.
Further supporting the notion of buying Japan ETFs, Japanese equities are growing less correlated to the whims of its yen currency. Traders have typically driven up Japanese equities in light of a weak yen currency due to the economy’s heavy reliance on exports as a weaker currency makes their products more competitive on the global market.