* Sent from my Apple iPhone
Begin forwarded message:
From: "Money and Markets" <eletter@e.moneyandmarkets.com>
Date: 24 March, 2011 7:33:02 PM GMT+08:00
To: <computerdiy@yahoo.com>
Subject: The Rundown on Japan ETFs
Reply-To: Do-Not-Reply@e.moneyandmarkets.com
Find us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter
MONEY AND MARKETS » Thursday, March 24, 2011 YOUR BEST SOURCE FOR THE UNBIASED MARKET COMMENTARY YOU WON'T GET FROM WALL STREET
[«] Money and Markets Archive View This Issue On Our Website [»] The Rundown on Japan ETFs by Ron Rowland
Dear Subscriber,
We're less than three full months into 2011, and the year is already chock-full of stunning world events. Yet if you depend on the media to tell you what is happening, you may miss some of the most important news.
Case in point: U.S. and European intervention in Libya pushed the Japanese disaster right out of the headlines! The nuclear plant explosions were dramatic, of course, but long-term damage from the earthquake and tsunami is potentially much more significant. Today I'll tell you what it all means for Japan-related ETFs.
Japan Matters ...
First, let's get past the idea that Japan doesn't really matter to the rest of the world. Yes, China recently moved ahead to become the world's second-largest economy. Japan, however, is still third — and with a much smaller population and very few natural resources.
But in stock market terms, Japan is way ahead of China and second only to the U.S.
As a matter of fact, Japanese stocks currently comprise 8.8% percent of the MSCI All-Country World Index ETF (ACWI), and a whopping 21.9 percent of the international benchmark iShares MSCI EAFE Index ETF (EFA).
Of course I like China as well. My point is that Japan can't simply be dismissed as irrelevant.
Japan is too big to be ignored. Certainly the damage in Japan is significant and the loss of life heart-breaking. The nation also has plenty of other long-term problems. Yet we may look back and see that the sell-off in Japanese stocks was overdone.
Am I recommending you jump into Japan right now? No, I'm not. The effects are still being assessed. I think it's better to wait and see how much infrastructure was destroyed.
Internal Sponsorship The Death of the American Dream
While President Obama fiddles and both parties in Congress dawdle, the American way of life is dying before our very eyes.
Unless our leaders reverse course immediately, our children and grandchildren will never know the prosperity and security that we have come to believe was our birthright.
This shocking free video reveals what Washington does NOT want you to know — and then gives you a solid, common-sense plan for protecting your family and your wealth: Click this link now for the uncensored story.
That's why this is an excellent time to review the many ways you can invest in Japan with ETFs. U.S. investors can pick from more than a dozen Japan equity ETFs and yen currency ETFs.
Here is the rundown:
The 7 "Long" Japan Equity ETFs
- iShares MSCI Japan (EWJ)
- SPDR Russell/Nomura PRIME Japan (JPP)
- iShares S&P/TOPIX 150 (ITF)
- WisdomTree Japan Small Cap Dividend (DFJ)
- SPDR Russell/Nomura Small Cap Japan (JSC)
- iShares MSCI Japan Small Cap (SCJ)
- WisdomTree Japan Hedged Equity (DXJ)
EWJ is by far the biggest and most actively-traded name on the list. EWJ, along with JPP and ITF, offer similar portfolios of the biggest Japan-based public companies.
The remaining four Japan ETFs are more specialized:
- As the name suggests, DFJ holds small cap stocks that pay dividends.
- JSC and SCJ focus on small caps as well, but use different weighting strategies.
- DXJ offers broad-based Japan exposure but with a twist: The impact of the U.S. dollar/Japanese yen exchange rate is hedged. This means DXJ reflects the movement in Japanese stock prices alone. Of course this can be good or bad, depending how the yen performs.
Regardless of any setbacks the disaster might bring, Japan's companies will bounce back. Inverse and Leveraged
Access to JapanProShares provides investors a way to leverage their Japanese stock bets on both the upside and the downside:
- ProShares Ultra MSCI Japan (EZJ)
- ProShares UltraShort MSCI Japan (EWV)
EZJ is essentially a version of EWJ on steroids. On any given day, EZJ is designed to give you twice the performance of EWJ. And if you think the Japanese market will continue to fall, then EWV could give you twice the inverse of EWJ.
These ETFs should be used with caution, as I've pointed out in a past Money and Markets column.
External Sponsorship What Obama Can't Do, These SIX Events Could
We at Agora Financial, urge you to watch this eye-opening video presentation and find out WHICH six "jackpot" events are about to change your life ...
And could even make you richer, healthier and happier ... in ways no sycophantic bureaucrat ever could!
Click here and find about the SIX EVENTS about to change your life forever.
Trading the Yen with ETFs
My colleague, currency expert Bryan Rich, just wrote last week that ETFs offer a great way for individual investors to participate in the foreign exchange markets. And here are the yen-based products you might want to consider:
- CurrencyShares Japanese Yen (FXY)
- WisdomTree Dreyfus Japan Yen (JYF)
- iPath JPY/USD Exchange Rate ETN (JYN)
- ProShares Ultra Yen (YCL)
- ProShares UltraShort Yen (YCS)
The ProShares ETFs offer long (YCL) and short (YCS) yen exposure. And both are leveraged with the goal of providing twice the movement of the daily exchange rate changes.
Whatever their stock and currency markets do, I wish our Japanese friends well in their recovery and rebuilding efforts. I know they will bounce back.
Best wishes,
Ron
Ron Rowland is widely regarded as a leading ETF and mutual fund advisor. You may have read about Mr. Rowland and his strategies in publications such as The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Investor's Business Daily, Forbes.com, Barron's, Hulbert Financial Digest and many more. As a former mutual fund manager from 2000 to 2002, Ron was a pioneer in using ETFs inside of mutual funds. Today, he is the editor of International ETF Trader, dedicated to helping investors use ETFs to profit from ever-changing global market conditions.
About Money and Markets
For more information and archived issues, visit http://www.moneyandmarkets.com
Money and Markets (MaM) is published by Weiss Research, Inc. and written by Martin D. Weiss along with Nilus Mattive, Claus Vogt, Ron Rowland, Michael Larson and Bryan Rich. To avoid conflicts of interest, Weiss Research and its staff do not hold positions in companies recommended in MaM, nor do we accept any compensation for such recommendations. The comments, graphs, forecasts, and indices published in MaM are based upon data whose accuracy is deemed reliable but not guaranteed. Performance returns cited are derived from our best estimates but must be considered hypothetical in as much as we do not track the actual prices investors pay or receive. Regular contributors and staff include John Burke, Marci Campbell, Amber Dakar, Maryellen Murphy, Jennifer Newman-Amos, Adam Shafer, Julie Trudeau, Jill Umiker, Leslie Underwood and Michelle Zausnig.
Attention editors and publishers! Money and Markets issues can be republished. Republished issues MUST include attribution of the author(s) and the following short paragraph:
This investment news is brought to you by Money and Markets. Money and Markets is a free daily investment newsletter from Martin D. Weiss and Weiss Research analysts offering the latest investing news and financial insights for the stock market, including tips and advice on investing in gold, energy and oil. Dr. Weiss is a leader in the fields of investing, interest rates, financial safety and economic forecasting. To view archives or subscribe, visit http://www.moneyandmarkets.com.
From time to time, Money and Markets may have information from select third-party advertisers known as "external sponsorships." We cannot guarantee the accuracy of these ads. In addition, these ads do not necessarily express the viewpoints of Money and Markets or its editors. For more information, see our terms and conditions.
View our Privacy Policy.
Would you like to unsubscribe from our mailing list?
To make sure you don't miss our urgent updates, add Weiss Research to your address book. Just follow these simple steps.
© 2011 by Weiss Research, Inc. All rights reserved. 15430 Endeavour Drive, Jupiter, FL 33478
