Shannon Saccocia, CIO, Boston PrivateiShares Japan ETFEWJBUYOct 16, 2023

North American markets are quite overcooked, so he's been divesting into foreign markets. Japan's a major market, and in an uptrend. Fiscal stimulation is supportive. 

Chart breaks out, then settles out, over and over. Rather than going parabolic. And he likes that. Good-looking chart. He's been legging in for the better part of this year.

US markets are a little riskier now. On a relative basis, EMs and Japan are doing better. Japan broke out from a very long lid, and that's very constructive. Chart's now consolidating. Bought his first leg about 1 week ago. Coming off the bottom of the current consolidation pattern, a good place to start buying.

Currency has been the headwind here. Will do well over the cycle. Buffett's been a big buyer of Japanese equities over the last few years. Very compelling valuations on Japanese industrials and financials.

(Note short timeframe.) After the August yen reversal, people were scared but this went right back to highs immediately. Warren Buffett's biggest purchasing is going on in Japan right now.

For high-net-worth investors especially, consider getting a Canadian-domiciled ETF. Yes, US listings are very liquid and some are cheaper, but you might be exposing yourself to US estate taxes. He's not a tax expert. 

Legacy pricing and history. Franklin Templeton disrupted the single-country category by tracking the FTSE indices, which are actually more diversified because they hold mid- and small-caps. Its Japan offering, LJA, is significantly cheaper at just 10 bps.

Not sure if you can be in Asia without being in China. A lot of names have the growth coming from China or Hong Kong. AIA is a good name, with 50 of the largest names in that region, including China (34%) and Taiwan (31%).

For Japan, EWJ is one to use.

When investing in Asia, he just goes with the large caps and doesn't use any of the mid-cap names.

Underappreciated market. Very large financial and industrial sectors, which didn't do well for a decade but are now leading. Diversification. Earnings growth higher in Japan than in US, but trades at 16x vs. 21x. Early days of movement for international stocks in general.

Japan is coming out of a long bear market and has performed consistently over the past year along with the yen stabilizing. Warren Buffet has been buying over the past year. There are lots of industrial, including electronics companies, as well as financials in its holdings. It is a good way of diversifying your portfolio.

Great option for Japan oriented investors.
Low valuations presenting buying opportunities. 
Lower risk with under valued assets.
DXJ (hedged equity fund) also a good option. 

Covers largest cap Japanese stocks.
Good for Japan equity exposure.
If bullish Japan - good product.
EFJA - better option for Canadian investors.