I’m going to dive right in here. So, I got this question from someone in the Beansprout community. Let me set the scene: they’re curious about this dividend payout thingy from the NikkoAM-StraitsTrading Asia ex Japan REIT ETF—yep, that mouthful of a name. We’re looking at the payout for this specific period (1 Nov 2024 to 31 Jan 2025) where, oh surprise, like a third of the payout was labeled as a return of capital. Weird, right? I bet more than this one investor is scratching their head.
For those scratching your heads—by the way, why does my head suddenly itch?—let me spill the basics. This ETF’s like a grab bag of REITs spread across Asia, not including Japan. Picture a mix of property trusts from Singapore, Hong Kong, and China all huddled together. And here’s a fun nugget: it’s the big cheese on the SGX, when we’re talking REIT ETFs. Assets galore. But wait, there’s more! It’s also the lone wolf, the solitary REIT ETF on the SGX. Am I rambling? Probably. But whatever, it’s worth the detour…
