WisdomTree Yen Fund Launches; Cheaper Than Rydex Equivalent

By Matthew Hougan

WisdomTree (WSDT.PK) launched its fifth foreign-currency-focused ETF today, as the WisdomTree Dreyfus Japanese Yen fund (JYF) debuted on the NYSE Arca.

JYF invests in short-term, investment-grade debt from Japan. It is designed to function essentially as a money market fund offering exposure to the Japanese market. The fund's returns will be driven by both interest income (based on prevailing rates for Japanese short-term debt) and currency fluctuations (based on how well the Japanese yen performs against the dollar).

Last week, WisdomTree launched similar funds tied to the Chinese Yuan (CYB), Indian Rupee (ICN), Brazilian Real (BZF) and Euro (EU). It also launched a U.S. money market fund, the WisdomTree U.S. Current Income Fund (USY).

The Japanese fund charges 0.35% in annual expenses. That compares with 0.40% for the Rydex CurrencyShares Japanese Yen Fund (FXY), which is currently the most popular ETF offering exposure to the Japanese market.

The prospectus for JYF is available here [PDF file].

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