From January to July, ETPs listed in Japan saw a record level of $23.8bn in net new assets, surpassing the prior record of $15bn, which was set during the same period last year, the London-based firm said in a recent report.
Equity ETFs/ETPs garnered a major chunk of the new net inflows amounting to $20.9bn. Commodity ETFs/ETPs and fixed income ETFs/ETPs followed with $573m and $45m, respectively.
For the month of July, ETFs/ETPs attracted $5.9bn, led by $4.3bn in equity products.
Net inflows pushed the assets under management of Japan-listed ETFs to $125bn in July 2015, up by $5bn compared to June.
Top gainers
During the first seven months of 2015, Nomura Asset Management was the gainer, receiving $10.1bn, followed by Nikko AM ($6.bn) and Mitsubishi UFJ ($2.5bn).
In the month of July, Nomura gathered the largest net ETF/ETP inflows (nearly half of the total at $2.9bn). Nikko Asset Management ($1.7bn) and Daiwa Asset Management with ($711m) followed.
On 24 August, Nomura, Diawa AM and Simplex AM will be launching three ETFs each. The products are leveraged and inverse ETFs.
A Nomura spokesperson recently said the planned product launches are linked to the availability of new indices. Earlier this month, Nikkei, Japan Exchange Group and Tokyo Stock Exchange launched the JPX-Nikkei 400 Leveraged and Inverse Index.
On 7 September, DIAM Asset Management will launch two ETFs tracking the TOPIX and the JPX-Nikkei Index 400, on the TSE, according to Japan Exchange Group website.
Japan has been attracting asset managers following the introduction of a stewardship code and the creation of the JPX-Nikkei Index 400 in 2014. These have helped raise awareness of the benefits of proper governance, and managers expect dividend and share buybacks to increase in the region.
Japanese companies paid dividends amounting to $23.4bn during the second quarter, according to a recent study by Henderson Global Investors.
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Japan ETF/ETP asset growth trend:
