Nikko Asset Management has launched a new exchange-traded fund designed to link its performance to the MSCI Japan Index.

The Listed Index Fund Japan Equity, also called the MSCI Japan Equity fund, is Nikko's ninth ETF in Japan. ETFs linked to the MSCI Index are automatically listed on the New York Stock Exchange; the ETF has also been listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.

"Nikko AM has already launched and listed ETFs linked to MSCI-KOKUSAI Index and MSCI Emerging Markets Index. Investors will be able to combine these ETFs with our new MSCI Japan Equity to diversify their investments," Koei Imai, the head of Nikko AM's ETF Centre, said in a statement.

The company said that the key advantage of the new ETF is that it is traded on the same day as the equities that make it up, creating a smaller likelihood of price and asset deviations. The annual trust fee is also set at 0.16 per cent, which the firm said is one of the lowest rates among those products linked with the MSCI Index.

Nikko AM has 14 index-linked ETFs, which track Japan, developed countries, emerging markets and China, in addition to Japan REITs.