TOPIX or JPX-Nikkei 400: two Amundi Japan ETFs, only one PEA-eligible

Two ways to invest in Japanese equities

Amundi offers two ETFs giving exposure to the Japanese stock market, but they don't track the same index and don't carry the same tax status. The first, the Amundi PEA Japan (TOPIX) UCITS ETF EUR (Acc) (ISIN FR0013411980), launched in April 2019, synthetically replicates the TOPIX (Tokyo Stock Price Index), the broad Japanese market index. Its ongoing charges are 0.20% a year, with roughly €133m in assets.

The second, the Amundi JPX Nikkei 400 UCITS ETF EUR (C) (ISIN LU1681038912), launched in November 2014, also uses swap-based replication to track the JPX-Nikkei Index 400, at a slightly lower cost of 0.18% a year and roughly €62m in assets. Both funds are accumulating (dividends reinvested automatically).

TOPIX vs JPX-Nikkei 400: two different index philosophies

The TOPIX is a purely capitalisation-weighted index: it covers almost all companies listed on the main segment of the Tokyo Stock Exchange, weighted by free-float market capitalisation. No qualitative filter applies — it's a faithful snapshot of the Japanese market as a whole.

The JPX-Nikkei Index 400, jointly designed by the Japan Exchange Group and Nikkei, takes a different approach: it selects 400 stocks using a score combining a 40% weight on 3-year average return on equity (ROE), 40% on 3-year cumulative operating profit, and 20% on market capitalisation — plus qualitative governance criteria (independent directors, IFRS adoption, financial disclosure quality). The stated aim is to reward companies that use capital efficiently and practise good governance, rather than simply reflecting size.

The difference that matters most: PEA eligibility

Beyond index methodology, there's a far more decisive practical point for a French investor: only the Amundi PEA Japan (TOPIX) is PEA-eligible. Its name says so explicitly, and its synthetic structure was specifically designed for that purpose — much like Amundi's other "PEA" branded ETFs we've covered before (MSCI World, MSCI ACWI).

The Amundi JPX Nikkei 400, by contrast, is not PEA-eligible: it can only be held in an ordinary brokerage account (compte-titres, or CTO), regardless of your broker. This is a decisive difference, because it determines the tax treatment: inside a PEA, after 5 years of holding, capital gains are only subject to social contributions (no income tax); in a CTO, gains are subject to the flat 31.4% tax (PFU), whatever the holding period.

Fees, replication and performance compared

	Amundi PEA Japan (TOPIX)	Amundi JPX Nikkei 400
ISIN	FR0013411980	LU1681038912
PEA eligibility	Yes	No (CTO only)
Index tracked	TOPIX	JPX-Nikkei Index 400
Ongoing charges (TER)	0.20%	0.18%
Replication	Synthetic (swap)	Synthetic (swap)
Launched	April 2019	November 2014
Fund size	~€133m	~€62m
5-year performance	~+54%	~+52%
Performance since launch	~+97% (since 2019)	~+185% (since 2014)

The since-launch figures aren't directly comparable, since the two funds have very different track records (2019 vs. 2014). Over a common 5-year period, however, both funds show very similar performance: the JPX-Nikkei 400's quality screen hasn't produced a meaningful gap against the broad TOPIX over this period — both have benefited from the same supportive backdrop for Japanese equities.

Which one should you choose?

For most French investors, the question resolves itself as soon as PEA allowance is available: the Amundi PEA Japan (TOPIX) is the only one offering the PEA's tax advantage, for a negligible fee difference (0.20% vs 0.18%) compared with the CTO alternative. The tax benefit of the PEA (income-tax exemption on gains after 5 years) vastly outweighs a 0.02-point difference in annual fees.

The Amundi JPX Nikkei 400 still has a place in two scenarios: a PEA that's already at its contribution ceiling, or a genuine conviction for a profitability- and governance-screened selection over broad market exposure — in which case it belongs in an ordinary brokerage account or, if the contract lists it, a life-insurance policy's unit-linked options.

In summary

The Amundi PEA Japan (TOPIX, FR0013411980, 0.20%) and the Amundi JPX Nikkei 400 (LU1681038912, 0.18%) both give exposure to Japanese equities, but track differently constructed indices — pure market-cap weighting for the first, a profitability- and governance-screened selection for the second. Their most important difference, however, isn't methodology but PEA eligibility: only the TOPIX fund can be held inside a PEA, making it the default choice for anyone with allowance left, given the negligible performance gap between the two over 5 years.

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