State Street Global Advisors (SSGA) has cross-listed the SPDR Gold MiniShares ETF (GLDMSM JP) on Tokyo Stock Exchange.

Rory Tobin, Head of the Global SPDR ETF Business at SSGA.

The fund, which was first launched on NYSE Arca in June 2018 through a partnership with World Gold Council, provides physically-backed exposure to gold.

It has proven popular with investors, crossing the $1 billion assets under management milestone in September, due in part to its low expense ratio.

Priced at 0.18%, the fund is likely to take assets from the WisdomTree Physical Gold (1672 JP) which charges 0.39% and was previously the cheapest gold ETP in Japan.

The SPDR Gold MiniShares also offers a relatively low entry point with a per-share trading price of 1/100th of an ounce of gold, as represented by the LBMA Gold Price PM (USD). This share pricing strategy is aimed at making the ETF more accessible to a broader client base of potential gold investors.

Rory Tobin, Head of the Global SPDR ETF Business at SSGA, commented, “The SPDR Gold MiniShares ETF offers a cost-effective, efficient, and highly liquid solution for investors seeking to access the risk-adjusted returns that physically-backed gold products can bring to a portfolio. In the current climate of political and market uncertainty, and with inflation expectations low, the opportunity for Japanese investors to take advantage of the diversification benefits of GLDMSM ETF will be especially timely.”

Joe Cavatoni, Managing Director, World Gold Council, added, “Our research indicates that investor appetite for gold-backed ETFs continues to increase, with global assets reaching all-time highs in September. We are pleased to offer more solutions to access gold as part of their investment strategy.”

SSGA offers another gold product in Japan – the SPDR Gold Shares ETF (1326 JP) – which was initially launched in the US in 2004 and cross-listed to TSE in 2008. The fund is the largest gold ETF globally, housing more than $40bn in AUM and offering robust liquidity with relatively low bid-ask spreads. Its expense ratio is 0.40%.