Assets invested in ETFs and ETPs (hereafter ETFs) listed in Japan reached a record high of $295 billion at the end of January 2018, surpassing the previous record of $276bn set at the end of 2017, according to ETF industry consultants ETFGI.

Assets invested in Japan ETFs reach record $295 bn

According to ETFGI’s research, the increase of $19bn (6.8%) over the month represents the greatest absolute monthly increase for 18 months.

This sharp increase in assets has only ever been surpassed once, in July 2016, when assets grew by $44.2bn.

January saw net inflows of $6.8bn into Japan-listed ETFs with strong market performance making up the balance.

Equity ETFs raked in virtually all the net inflows during the month with $6.6bn, while leveraged ETFs collected a further $144 million.

January 2018 also marked the ninth consecutive month of net inflows into Japan-listed ETFs.

The majority of the net inflows can be attributed to the top 20 ETFs by net new assets, which collectively gathered $6.7bn over the month.

The TOPIX ETF (1306 JP) on its own accounted for net inflows of $1.8bn. The fund provides exposure to the TOPIX – Tokyo Stock Price Index – one of the major indices on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, with more than 1,800 constituents. The index is a well-followed barometer of the development of Japan’s capital market and has returned 19.1% since this time last year.

The ETF currently has $7.2bn in assets under management and a 0.11% expense ratio.