Japanese stocks have been attracting small investors - despite the collapse of Internet firm Livedoor Co. - who have invested $600 million into a newly created stock fund, according to Reuters.
"Retail investors are tapping into a domestic growth fund at a magnitude not seen since 2000 as their confidence is finally back after seeing three years of a rally [in Japanese shares]," said Nobuyuki Fujiwara, market analyst at Lipper.
In the past, small investors focused on foreign bond funds, real estate investment trusts and any funds that guaranteed frequent dividend payments.
The launch of this fund is not an illustration of investors shifting money from one fund to another. "Despite the market's ups and downs, there has been no panic-like cancellation here," said Kiichi Fujita, a strategist at
A Reuters survey also proves that retail investors are attracted to Japanese funds, as the survey revealed that 89% of investors polled said they would buy Japanese stocks.
The staff of Money Management Executive ("MME") has prepared these capsule summaries based on reports published by the news sources to which they are attributed. Those news sources are not associated with MME, and have not prepared, sponsored, endorsed, or approved these summaries.
