iShares MSCI Japan EUR Hedged UCITS ETF (Acc)

What this fund is

iShares MSCI Japan EUR Hedged UCITS ETF (Acc) is an exchange-traded fund (ETF) from iShares, traded under the ticker IJPE (ISIN IE00B42Z5J44). It lets you buy a basket of holdings in a single trade, spreading your money across them rather than one company. In plain terms it is about owning small slices of companies, so you share in their growth when they do well — and their falls when they don't, spread across its target market. It follows the MSCI Japan index (passive investing): it tracks the market rather than relying on a manager, keeping running costs down, and its largest holdings include MITSUBISHI UFJ FINANCIAL GROUP INC, TOKYO ELECTRON LTD and TOYOTA MOTOR CORP. Spread across roughly 176 holdings (the ten largest ≈ 29.3%), no one position makes or breaks the fund.

By geography it is weighted towards ~100.6% Japan, ~0% European Union and ~0% United Kingdom. Its heaviest sectors are ~23.1% Industrials and ~20.8% Technology. It is commonly used to tilt a portfolio towards one market, usually alongside broader, more global funds rather than on its own. Its ongoing charge (TER) is 0.64% a year — about €64 a year on a €10,000 holding, taken automatically from the fund. Income such as dividends is automatically reinvested inside the fund (an accumulating share class), so returns compound without you doing anything.

It holds the underlying investments directly (physical replication); it is domiciled in Ireland and UCITS-regulated, a European standard built to protect everyday investors, trades in EUR and is currency-hedged against exchange-rate swings. Its price has swung about 20.2% over the past year — a gauge of how much the value moves, not a judgement of quality. It launched in 2010. As with any investment, its value can go down as well as up, and past performance is not a guide to future results. (Fund data sourced from iShares.)