Our Money Morning 2015 top stock picks include a few investments we've been telling readers to buy up on the aggressive Japanese quantitative easing program.
And since our recommendations, they're up big.
In November 2014, we suggested readers check out the WisdomTree Japan Hedged Equity Fund (NYSE Arca: DXJ).
The reason? As the Bank of Japan pumped tens of trillions of more yen into the Japanese financial system - a part of an economic plan called "Abenomics, named after Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe - it was going to bring euphoria to equity markets and embolden the bears to put sell-side pressure on the yen.
"What I like here is exposure to the upside of Japanese equities, while having exchange rate differences with the USD (likely to be substantial as the yen is likely to continue falling) hedged out," Krauth said.
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Sure enough, the Nikkei 225, the benchmark for the Japanese stock market, is up 13.1%. And while the yen is mostly flat, it hasn't moved against DXJ enough to diminish an outstanding 17.2% gain.
We also recommended auto manufacturer Toyota Motor Corp. (NYSE:TM) and high-impact ceramics, audio, and electronics company Kyocera Corp. (NYSE: KYO). This is because these two Japanese stocks will get a boost in exports from a weakening yen.
"They're tapping into markets outside the Japanese domestic consumption model," Money Morning Chief Investment Strategist Keith Fitz-Gerald said. "The weakening yen that's so much going to be a part of Abenomics is going to benefit those companies as they repatriate earnings from around the world."
In 2015, TM stock is up 9.9%, and KYO stock is up an even more impressive 19.8%.
To see 10 of our 2015 top stock picks, check out the table below...
Money Morning's Top Stocks 2015
Here are our top 10 for year-to-date gains as of the May 14 close:
Name | Symbol | 2015 Gain % |
Prothena Corp. Plc | PRTA | 53..4 |
Ambarella Inc. | AMBA | 49.7 |
Novavax Inc. | NVAX | 45.5 |
JD.com Inc. | JD | 44.3 |
Thoratec Corp. | THOR | 38.0 |
Ekso Bionic Holdings Inc. | EKSO | 37.5 |
U.S. Silica Holdings Inc. | SLCA | 37.1 |
Alon USA Energy Inc. | ALJ | 35.4 |
Skyworks Solutions Inc. | SWKS | 35.4 |
Boston Scientific Corp. | BSX | 35.2 |
Sources: Google Finance, Money Morning Staff Research
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