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Is WisdomTree Japan Hedged Equity ETF (DXJ) a Strong ETF Right Now?

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The WisdomTree Japan Hedged Equity ETF (DXJ - Free Report) was launched on 06/16/2006, and is a smart beta exchange traded fund designed to offer broad exposure to the Asia-Pacific (Developed) ETFs category of the market.

What Are Smart Beta ETFs?

For a long time now, the ETF industry has been flooded with products based on market capitalization weighted indexes, which are designed to represent the broader market or a particular market segment.

Market cap weighted indexes work great for investors who believe in market efficiency. They provide a low-cost, convenient and transparent way of replicating market returns.

However, some investors believe in the possibility of beating the market through exceptional stock selection, and choose a different type of fund that tracks non-cap weighted strategies: smart beta.

Non-cap weighted indexes try to choose stocks that have a better chance of risk-return performance, which is based on specific fundamental characteristics, or a mix of other such characteristics.

Methodologies like equal-weighting, one of the simplest options out there, fundamental weighting, and volatility/momentum based weighting are all choices offered to investors in this space, but not all of them can deliver superior returns.

Fund Sponsor & Index

Managed by Wisdomtree, DXJ has amassed assets over $1.64 billion, making it one of the average sized ETFs in the Asia-Pacific (Developed) ETFs. This particular fund seeks to match the performance of the WisdomTree Japan Hedged Equity Index before fees and expenses.

The WisdomTree Japan Hedged Equity Index is designed to provide exposure to Japanese equity markets while at the same time neutralizing exposure to fluctuations of the Japanese Yen movements relative to the U.S. dollar.

Cost & Other Expenses

When considering an ETF's total return, expense ratios are an important factor. And, cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive cousins in the long term if all other factors remain equal.

With on par with most peer products in the space, this ETF has annual operating expenses of 0.48%.

The fund has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 2.95%.

Sector Exposure and Top Holdings

It is important to delve into an ETF's holdings before investing despite the many upsides to these kinds of funds like diversified exposure, which minimizes single stock risk. And, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.

Taking into account individual holdings, Toyota Motor Corp accounts for about 4.62% of the fund's total assets, followed by Mitsubishi Ufj Financial Group and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group.

Its top 10 holdings account for approximately 17.63% of DXJ's total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

The ETF has added about 2.68% and is up roughly 8.09% so far this year and in the past one year (as of 01/20/2023), respectively. DXJ has traded between $57.34 and $69.44 during this last 52-week period.

The fund has a beta of 0.65 and standard deviation of 23.28% for the trailing three-year period, which makes DXJ a medium risk choice in this particular space. With about 446 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

WisdomTree Japan Hedged Equity ETF is a reasonable option for investors seeking to outperform the Asia-Pacific (Developed) ETFs segment of the market. However, there are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider.

JPMorgan BetaBuilders Japan ETF (BBJP - Free Report) tracks MORNINGSTAR JAPAN TRGT MRKT EXPOSURE ID and the iShares MSCI Japan ETF (EWJ - Free Report) tracks MSCI Japan Index. JPMorgan BetaBuilders Japan ETF has $7.03 billion in assets, iShares MSCI Japan ETF has $9.78 billion. BBJP has an expense ratio of 0.19% and EWJ charges 0.50%.

Investors looking for cheaper and lower-risk options should consider traditional market cap weighted ETFs that aim to match the returns of the Asia-Pacific (Developed) ETFs.

Bottom Line

To learn more about this product and other ETFs, screen for products that match your investment objectives and read articles on latest developments in the ETF investing universe, please visit Zacks ETF Center.

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