Eastern promise

In stark contrast to other global markets, ETF assets in Japan shrank in 2009, according to Koei Imai, head of ETFs for Nikko Asset Management. Imai says this is largely due to the falling risk appetite of Japan’s largest financial institutions, still the dominant force in Japan’s ETF industry. According to his estimates, roughly 70% of assets in Nikko’s ETFs are held by financial institutions. “Decreasing risk appetite has led to net redemptions,” he says. “This is more to do with financial institutions themselves than a changing attitude about the Japanese market.”  Banks in particu...