Japanese stocks
Roughly 200 Japanese companies: Toyota, Sony, Mitsubishi UFJ, Keyence, Tokyo Electron. Japan is a wealthy, well-run market that spent decades going nowhere but has been waking up lately as companies improve shareholder returns.
Returns shown in USD (your base currency). Past performance is not a reliable guide to future results.
- Exposure to world-class exporters like Toyota and Sony
- Japanese companies sitting on huge cash piles
- Auto-reinvests dividends for compounding
- Yen weakness can erode returns in USD terms
- Aging population is a long-term economic headwind
- Quoted in pence: extra FX hop from USD
About this fund
Broad Japan exposure. Trades on LSE in GBp; the USD line is IJPA.L.
Available on Interactive Brokers
Low-cost access to Japanese stocks and 10,000+ funds worldwide.
Frequently asked questions
Is SJPA.L accumulating or distributing?
iShares Core MSCI Japan IMI UCITS ETF (SJPA.L) is an accumulating ETF, so its dividends are reinvested automatically inside the fund instead of paid out as cash. The value compounds in the share price, which keeps things simple since the dividends are reinvested for you instead of arriving as cash you would otherwise have to reinvest yourself.
What is the annual fee (TER) for SJPA.L?
SJPA.L has a total expense ratio (TER) of 0.12% per year. On a $10,000 holding that is roughly $12 a year, charged inside the fund rather than billed to you separately. A lower fee leaves more of the return compounding for you over time.
Can I buy SJPA.L on Interactive Brokers?
Yes. SJPA.L trades on LSE, GBp and is available to investors worldwide through Interactive Brokers (IBKR). IBKR is the most popular way to buy UCITS ETFs because of its low FX conversion cost (around 0.03%) and low trading commissions.
What does SJPA.L invest in?
iShares Core MSCI Japan IMI UCITS ETF (SJPA.L) tracks the MSCI Japan IMI. Roughly 200 Japanese companies: Toyota, Sony, Mitsubishi UFJ, Keyence, Tokyo Electron. You buy one fund and get the whole basket in a single trade.
Is SJPA.L a UCITS ETF, and where is it domiciled?
Yes, SJPA.L is a UCITS ETF domiciled in Ireland. For non-US investors, Irish-domiciled UCITS ETFs are usually preferred over US-domiciled ones: US dividend withholding tax is 15% under the tax treaty (versus 30% on US-domiciled funds for many non-US investors), and the holdings sit outside US estate tax.
How risky is SJPA.L?
On the TickerCompare 1 to 5 scale, SJPA.L is rated medium risk (3/5), based on how much its price has moved historically. Higher-risk funds can fall further in a downturn, so match the choice to your time horizon and how much volatility you can stomach.