Bank of Japan ETF purchases

Bank of Japan's $150 Billion ETF Binge Looks Likely to Slow Next Year

As stocks surge and consumer prices inch higher, investors say it’s time for the Bank of Japan to reduce equity purchases that have been criticized for distorting the market. 

Sometime next year, the BOJ will cut its annual buying target for domestic exchange-traded funds by as much as a third from the current 6 trillion yen ($53 billion), says Toru Ibayashi, head of Japanese equities at UBS Wealth Management in Tokyo. Soichiro Monji of Daiwa SB Investments Ltd. expects a similar reduction, but by the end of March. 

“Four trillion yen,” UBS’s Ibayashi predicted. “And everybody will understand.”