The investment objective of the funds is to track the performance of the recently launched JPX-Nikkei 400 Total Return US dollar and Euro-hedged indices.
Offered in EUR–hedged and USD-hedged formats, the ETFs will allow investors to gain exposure to Japanese equities, while reducing the impact on their portfolios of potential JPY depreciation against those currencies.
The JPX-Nikkei 400 Total Return Index spearheads a new generation of benchmarks, with the objective of increasing the appeal of Japanese equities by including companies with high and sustainable dividend yields; encouraging better corporate governance and capital efficiency.
The selection criteria are based on return on equity, governance, size and liquidity.
The index is calculated on a free-float adjusted market capitalisation weighted basis.
The ETFs are part of Nomura’s US$52.7 billion NEXT FUNDS range, which offer physical replication of benchmark indices in various asset classes.
These additions represent a further step in the international expansion of NEXT FUNDS into the UCITS ETF market, following the launch in January of the “Nomura Nikkei 225 Euro -Hedged UCITS ETF” and the “Nomura Nikkei 225 UCITS US Dollar -Hedged ETF”.
Mike Ward, Head of Equity Sales, EMEA, at Nomura, said: “These new ETFs provide bestin-class access to Japanese equities for our international clients, while allowing them to hedge currency risk. They are a direct response to the broad-based interest in Japanese equities among the international investor community.”