Investing in Japan: There is no stock market as undervalued and as misunderstood as Japan. Available in print on Amazon and Kindle in the U.S. (and India), Japan, the UK and across Europe (search your country’s site for “Investing in Japan”). For bulk or international orders outside of Amazon please email contact@steventowns.com.
In a classic rally and reversal, Japanese stocks went from the best-performing globally in Q1 2012 to giving back the gains in the following months. Meantime valuations remain very attractive broadly and selectively. The market appears enigmatic but it need not. Most “investors” and market watchers talk, and worry, too much about macro themes. Similarly, many walks of investors (as well as benchmarks indexes) are too focused on the big exporters and mega banks. The end result is not dissimilar: lots of missed opportunity.
Within Investing in Japan readers will find thoroughly researched must-know information (including from original Japanese sources) with 140 footnotes. Discussion includes the following among many other points:
- brief overview of value investing (helpful to those less familiar; hearing its merits is never redundant to practitioners)
- challenge the conventional wisdom of Japan being on its last leg (a kind way of putting it compared to some others’)
- comprehensive overview of investing in Japan including various must-know idiosyncrasies
- the shortcomings of Japan-focused mutual funds and ETFs (as well as the odd marketing of funds to Japanese investors)
- everything you need to know about ADRs
- review of select value shops’ investing in Japan and value-focused Japanese funds
- valuation metrics and comparison to other markets
- hedge funds’ investments in Japan
- discuss the oft-cited matter of low returns on equity
- share some surprising (positive) information on shareholder rights and corporate governance
Reviews and media mentions:
The Manual of Ideas (a premium value-focused investment publication) co-founders call Investing in Japan a ”great book” and have recommended it on Amazon. The MOI has published two exclusive articles of mine on Japanese stocks (May and June 2012), one of a deep value stock, the other of a so-called superinvestors’ stock (contact me for details or visit MOI for subscriptions/archives). Invited to present at November 2012 “Japan Investing Summit.”
Barron’s (May 26/27, 2012 edition) discussing the Nikkei’s reversal, bright spots in domestic demand stocks, and Nintendo’s valuation.
Value investor Nate Tobik, editor of the Oddball Stocks blog, has been focused on the universe of Japanese “net-nets”; click his hyperlinked name for a review of Investing in Japan.
Jim McRitchie’s review – Jim, editor of the highly regarded CorpGov.net, is an investor and pioneer in individual shareowner rights and value enhancement.
Additional reader reviews available at Amazon.
