WisdomTree Japan Hedged Equity Fund

WisdomTree Japan Hedged Equity Fund (DXJ) tracks an index of dividend-paying Japanese companies with meaningful sales outside Japan. It also uses currency contracts to offset swings between the yen and the US dollar. That hedge sets it apart from ordinary Japan funds: a weaker yen does not drag on returns, but a stronger yen does not help either. At 0.48% a year, it costs more than two similar hedged Japan ETFs.

• Over the year to Oct 27, 2026, DXJ returned +33.6%, 1st of 3 among similar funds.
• Its 5-year annualized return was +27.1% and its 10-year +17.9%.
• In the 2020 COVID crash it fell 31.1% and regained its old high 7.8 months after the low.
• Its worst full calendar year was 2008 (-20.7%); its best was 2023 (+42.0%).
• The deepest fall in its price history was 49.6% (Feb 26, 2007 to Mar 9, 2009), recovered by Sep 10, 2014.

As of Jun 30, 2026, the fund held 426 securities; the ten largest made up 28.9% of assets. It also reported 4.94% in a money-market fund, most likely cash collateral from lending out shares rather than uninvested money.

• Over the three months to Jun 30, 2026, investors added a net $495.1M (creations minus redemptions, per the N-PORT report).
• Monthly total returns reported for that quarter: +5.26%, +6.36%, +1.01%.

DXJ follows the WisdomTree Japan Hedged Equity Index. WisdomTree, Inc. created the index, and its subsidiary WisdomTree Asset Management advises the fund. To qualify, a company must do its main business in Japan, list on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, pay dividends and earn less than 80% of its revenue in Japan. That last rule tilts the index toward global businesses, which have historically done better when the yen weakens. Companies must also meet minimums for dividends paid, size and trading volume.

Stocks are weighted by the total dollars of dividends paid over the prior year, so bigger payers get bigger weights. At the yearly rebalance, no stock can exceed 5% of the index and no sector can exceed 25% (15% for real estate). As of June 30, 2026, the fund held 426 stocks. The largest were Mitsubishi UFJ Financial (4.6%), Sumitomo Mitsui Financial (3.6%), Toyota (3.5%) and Tokyo Electron (3.2%). The fund uses representative sampling, which means it owns a sample of index stocks that behaves like the whole index.

The hedge uses one-month forward contracts. These are derivatives (contracts whose value comes from something else), here agreements to swap yen for dollars at a set rate. The hedge adds to returns when the dollar rises against the yen and subtracts when the dollar falls.

• DXJ charges 0.48% a year, versus an average of 0.27% for the similar funds below (3rd of 3, cheapest first).
• Using the prospectus's standard example, $10,000 invested would cost about $49 in the first year and $604 over 10 years (assuming a 5% annual return).

It is a single-country stock fund with a currency hedge, so it makes a focused bet on Japanese companies rather than giving broad market exposure.

DXJ adds Japanese stocks without yen swings, but it has fallen hard. It lost 46.1% in the 2008 financial crisis and took about 50 months to recover. Its deepest drop was 49.6%, from February 2007 to March 2009, and recovery took about 66 months. In 2020 it fell 31.1% and recovered in about eight months. It held up better in 2022, falling 11.8% at its worst and ending the year up 7.51%. Its worst calendar year was 2008, down 20.7%. Anyone selling shares during those drops would have locked in losses. Income is modest: the trailing yield was 0.9% as of October 27, 2026, paid twice a year. The 0.48% expense ratio is above the 0.27% average of similar funds. Past results don't predict the future, and a plan should look at the whole portfolio, not one fund.

Matched by holdings overlap from the latest N-PORT reports.