Are too many investors ignoring Japan?

Income prospects still strong in Japan

Richard Aston, manager of the CC Japan Growth & Income trust, takes a closer look at whether the country's equity markets can defy investor expectations.

In an unprecedented period of low-to-no growth, equity income has been the sanctuary of many an investor portfolio. Even then, good returns come down, largely, to good stockpicking.  If I were to describe a market where dividend growth increased by 15% year-on-year, would investors raise an eyebrow? In that same market, if payout ratios grew at nearly 35%, would two eyebrows be raised? Still in that same market, if buyback activity had increased by 50% on the prior year with all of this further enriched by a strong currency and a market known to be generally undervalued - investor int...