The Japanese economy appears to be on stable footing and its stock market should continue to climb, according to Credit Suisse. Global equity strategist Andrew Garthwaite upgraded his view of Japan to a “small overweight” from underweight, citing the Japanese central bank’s unique policy approach and positive signs for economic growth. “Japan is in a ‘Goldilocks position’ for monetary policy in that inflation is not hot enough to cause an end to [yield curve control] for c12 months, but is hot enough to cause a once-in-a-generation shift from cash (54% of financial assets) into equities/property,” Garthwaite said in a note to clients Thursday. Read more: Japan stocks are on fire this year. Here are 3 reasons why the rally could have ‘staying power’ Other reasons to be bullish on Japanese stocks include corporate buybacks and a relatively low level of leverage for companies, the note said. Ways to play it The simplest way for U.S-based investors to add exposure to Japan is through exchange-traded funds. The biggest U.S. ETF that tracks Japan is the iShares MSCI Japan ETF (EWJ) . The fund, which has an expense ratio of 0.50%, has a total return of 9% year to date, according to FactSet. EWJ YTD mountain Japan ETFs like the EWJ have positive returns in 2023. Its largest competitor is the JPMorgan BetaBuilders Japan ETF (BBJP) , which has matched the EWJ’s performance this year and has a lower price tag, with an expense ratio of 0.19%. The JPMorgan fund tracks a Morningstar Index instead of an MSCI Index. Currency concerns One concern Garthwaite highlighted was currency, as the Japanese yen has weakened against the U.S. dollar in 2023 even as the greenback has declined against other major currencies. When the yen falls versus the dollar, that can mute the returns of Japanese stocks for U.S. investors. JPY= YTD mountain The greenback has strengthened against the yen this year. There are some funds investors can use to limit the effect of currency, such as the WisdomTree Japan Hedged Equity Fund (DXJ) , which focuses on Japanese stocks that pay dividends. The fund, which benefits when the yen falls, has roughly double the total return of the EWJ so far this year. The DXJ has nearly $2 billion in assets and an expense ratio of 0.48%. BlackRock’s iShares offers its own currency-hedged product, HEWJ , which has similar performance to the WisdomTree fund but less than $200 million in assets. The Xtrackers MSCI Japan Hedged Equity ETF (DBJP) also has similar performance and about $300 million in assets. — CNBC’s Michael Bloom contributed reporting.
