In March 2025, Rakuten Securities reported that the top three investment trust sales rankings remained unchanged for the fifth consecutive month, featuring the "eMAXIS Slim U.S. Stock (S&P500)", the "eMAXIS Slim All-World Stock (All Country)"—commonly referred to as Olukan—and the "Rakuten Plus S&P500 Index Fund". This consistency marks a notable trend in the investment landscape since November 2024.
The "Rakuten All-U.S. Stock Index Fund" climbed from fifth to fourth place, while the "Rakuten Plus All Country Stock Index Fund" also saw an increase, securing the fifth position. Conversely, the "Rakuten Japan Stock 4.3x Bull", which had previously held the fourth spot, slipped to sixth. In a surprising turn, the "Invesco World Strict Selection Stock Open (No Currency Hedge) (Monthly Settlement Type)" entered the top ten at ninth place, having previously been outside the rankings.
The ongoing popularity of the S&P500 and Olukan funds is largely attributed to the performance of the "Magnificent Seven (M7)" stocks—Apple, Meta Platforms, Amazon, Alphabet, Microsoft, NVIDIA, and Tesla. However, these stocks have faced significant pressure due to President Trump's tariff policies, which have caused their prices to drop sharply. For context, when the NASDAQ Composite hit a peak on December 16, 2024, it was indexed at 100; by March 13, 2025, the S&P500 had fallen to 90.90, reflecting a decline of around 10%. The NASDAQ Composite fared worse, dropping to 85.77, or about 15% from its peak, while the average price of the M7 stocks fell by over 20% to 79.64 on March 18, 2025.
Since the beginning of 2025, the decline in U.S. stock prices has been primarily driven by the M7. The catalyst for this downturn has been Trump's announcement of a uniform 10% tariff on all countries, which escalates to 34% for China, 20% for the EU, and varying rates for other nations. This has raised concerns particularly for the M7, which are heavily integrated into global markets. Notably, Tesla, led by Elon Musk—a key figure in the Trump administration—has seen its stock plummet from a high of $479.86 on December 17, 2024, to just $222.15 by March 10, 2025, marking a staggering drop of 53.70%.
The situation is compounded by the overall market anxiety stemming from these tariff policies and the retaliatory measures from China. This has resulted in a double whammy for Japanese funds linked to the S&P500 and Olukan, as they are also affected by the strengthening yen. On April 4, 2025, the S&P500 index experienced a sharp decline of 6%, closing at 5,074.08 points, further exacerbating market uncertainties.
Looking ahead, significant financial events are on the horizon. On April 9, 2025, the U.S. is set to implement additional reciprocal tariffs, increasing Japan's tariffs from 10% to 24%, while China is expected to impose a 34% tariff on all imports from the U.S. The following day, April 10, will see the release of the U.S. Consumer Price Index (CPI) for March 2025, followed by the Producer Price Index (PPI) and consumer sentiment data on April 11.
As of April 7, 2025, the latest figures indicate that Japanese S&P500-linked funds have declined by approximately 5.9%. The MSCI ACWI (All Country World Index) also recorded a decline of about 5.36% by the end of the week on April 4. The standard price of Japanese Olukan-type funds has similarly dropped by 5%, with expectations of further declines as the market reacts to ongoing economic pressures.
In a broader context, the inflow of funds into domestic publicly offered additional-type stock investment trusts (excluding ETFs) in March 2025 was estimated at 1 trillion 586.2 billion yen, despite a slight decrease from the previous month. This marks the 22nd consecutive month of net inflows, with over 1 trillion yen recorded for three months in a row. Fund inflows into developed country stock types and global stock types remain robust, while domestic stock types and balanced funds continue to attract investments.
Among individual funds, the "eMAXIS Slim All-World Stock (All Country)" (Olukan) ranked first with an estimated 186.4 billion yen in inflows, marking its return to the top position for the first time since October 2024. The "U.S. Stock (S&P500)", which previously held the first place, fell to second with inflows of 177.5 billion yen. Notably, the "Pictet Gold (No Currency Hedge)" entered the top ten for the first time since its establishment, attracting 24.1 billion yen.
On the flip side, the fund experiencing the largest outflow was the "Global ESG High Quality Growth Stock Fund (No Currency Hedge)" managed by Asset Management One. Additionally, outflows from funds investing in Indian stocks have continued to be prominent.
As the investment landscape continues to evolve amidst these economic challenges, it remains to be seen how both domestic and international markets will respond to the ongoing volatility. Investors are advised to stay informed and prepared for potential shifts in market dynamics as key financial indicators are released in the coming days.
