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

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A smart beta exchange traded fund, the WisdomTree Japan Hedged Equity ETF (DXJ - Free Report) debuted on 06/16/2006, and offers broad exposure to the Asia-Pacific (Developed) ETFs category of the market.

What Are Smart Beta ETFs?

Market cap weighted indexes were created to reflect the market, or a specific segment of the market, and the ETF industry has traditionally been dominated by products based on this strategy.

A good option for investors who believe in market efficiency, market cap weighted indexes offer a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way of replicating market returns.

There are some investors, though, who think it's possible to beat the market with great stock selection; this group likely invests in another class of funds known as smart beta, which track non-cap weighted strategies.

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.

While this space offers a number of choices to investors, including simplest equal-weighting, fundamental weighting and volatility/momentum based weighting methodologies, not all these strategies have been able to deliver superior results.

Fund Sponsor & Index

The fund is managed by Wisdomtree, and has been able to amass over $1.78 billion, which makes it one of the average sized ETFs in the Asia-Pacific (Developed) ETFs. DXJ 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

For ETF investors, expense ratios are an important factor when considering a fund's return; in the long-term, cheaper funds actually have the ability to outperform their more expensive cousins if all other things remain the same.

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

It's 12-month trailing dividend yield comes in at 3.38%.

Sector Exposure and Top Holdings

Most ETFs are very transparent products, and disclose their holdings on a daily basis. ETFs also offer diversified exposure, which minimizes single stock risk, though it's still important for investors to research a fund's holdings.

Taking into account individual holdings, Toyota Motor Corp accounts for about 4.42% of the fund's total assets, followed by Mitsubishi Ufj Financial Group and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group.

DXJ's top 10 holdings account for about 28.76% of its total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

Year-to-date, the WisdomTree Japan Hedged Equity ETF has added about 19.11% so far, and is up roughly 23.40% over the last 12 months (as of 05/25/2023). DXJ has traded between $61.68 and $76.96 in this past 52-week period.

The fund has a beta of 0.65 and standard deviation of 17.02% for the trailing three-year period, which makes DXJ a medium risk choice in this particular space. With about 444 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 $7.67 billion in assets, iShares MSCI Japan ETF has $10.72 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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