NBJP vs SCJ

NBJPCNeuberger Berman Japan Equity ETF

SCJAiShares MSCI Japan Small-Cap ETF

In short

NBJP Most Japan ETFs just buy the whole market. NBJP hires stock pickers instead: a concentrated portfolio of about 60 Japanese companies screened for quality and durable growth. Active conviction, at an active price.

SCJ Japan past the household-name exporters. SCJ holds roughly 800 of the country's smaller listed companies, the domestic slice that large-cap Japan benchmarks leave out, and it has been running that mandate since 2007.

Stated mandate

NBJP The Fund seeks long-term growth of capital.

SCJ The fund seeks to track an index composed of small-capitalization Japanese equities.

Why people hold it

• NBJP Genuinely active, not an index in disguise: roughly 60 Japanese names chosen by Neuberger Berman's research team, with at least 80% of assets in companies tied economically to Japan.aaii.com
• Stays in its lane. A dedicated single-country Japan equity mandate, with no drift into broader Asia or global developed markets.
• Concentration with intent: at about 60 holdings, individual picks actually move the portfolio, rather than getting diluted inside a several-hundred-stock market cap index.

• SCJ One job, done tightly: it tracks the MSCI Japan Small Cap Index, roughly 800 names deep, the part of the market big blue-chip Japan benchmarks leave on the floor.ishares.com
• Trading since 2007, so there is a long live record here, not a backtest, and it has stayed tight to its index over that stretch.
• About 800 holdings means no single stock carries the portfolio, and the 0.50% fee sits right at the median for single-country Japan funds.

Worth knowing

• NBJP Cost is the trade-off: a 1.92% stated expense ratio against a roughly 0.50% cohort median, with index peers like FLJP at 0.09%. Fee caps can lower the net figure, so read the current prospectus.
• Thinly traded with a modest asset base, so spreads can run wider than the giant index Japan funds like BBJP and EWJ.
• Young fund. It opened in 2024, so there is not yet a full market cycle to judge the stock picking against cheap index alternatives.

• SCJ 0.50% a year is the going rate for the niche, but broad Japan trackers like FLJP (0.09%) and BBJP (0.19%) charge a fraction. Small-cap coverage is the upcharge.
• Moderately traded, and Tokyo is closed while US markets are open, so spreads and price-to-value gaps can widen at the edges of the session.
• Unhedged: the holdings are priced in yen, so currency swings land on top of the stock moves, in both directions. Distributions come once or twice a year.ishares.com

Full NBJP profile⁠

Full SCJ profile⁠