Japan-based investment firm Simplex Asset Management has launched a new ETF on the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE), providing exposure to locally listed real estate companies.

The ETF provides exposure to all REITs listed on Tokyo Stock Exchange.

The Simplex TSE REIT ETF (2555 JP) tracks the Tokyo Stock Exchange REIT Index which is a free-float adjusted market capitalization-weighted index based on all real estate investment trusts (REITs) listed on the TSE.

The index covers a range of REIT sectors with the largest exposures to office REITs, diversified REITs, industrial REITs, and retail REITs.

It currently has 62 constituents, the largest of which are Nippon Building Fund (7.7%), Japan Real Estate Investment (6.9%), Nomura Real Estate Master Fund (5.4%), Japan Retail Fund (4.5%), and United Urban Investment (4.1%).

The ETF may provide a suitable solution for income-seeking investors as REITs typically distribute over 90% of their taxable income to investors as dividends.

The fund comes with a management fee of 0.25%.

It joins a crowded field of REIT ETFs listed on the TSE with a further eleven funds tracking the same index or a derivative of it, such as a smaller ‘core’ subset.

Most of these ETFs come with management fees between 0.20% and 0.30%. The joint cheapest, however, are the iShares Core Japan REIT ETF (1476 JP) and the Daiwa ETF Tokyo Stock Exchange REIT Index ETF (1488 JP), each with a management fee of 0.16%.