UPDATE 2-SPDR Gold Shares ETF makes slow debut in Tokyo

(Updates prices to close, adds comments)

By Risa Maeda

TOKYO, June 30 (Reuters) - Japan's first bullion-backed exchange-traded fund (1326.T: Quote, Profile, Research) made a slow debut on the Tokyo Stock Exchange on Monday, reflecting reluctance among brokers for the alternative product with low fees, traders and analysts said.

The bourse [TSE.UL] cross-listed the SPDR Gold Shares ETF, the world's most popular of its kind, to draw more investors.

Gold ETFs allow investors to buy the metal on an exchange like regular stocks without having to take actual delivery, luring retail and institutional investors who might otherwise be reluctant to trade in commodities.

But domestic brokers so far prefer selling investors over-the-counter investment trusts with higher fees and have been slow to catch up with growing needs for the hedging tool against stocks and bonds, traders and analysts said.

The ETF, whose marketing agent is State Street Global Markets (STT.N: Quote, Profile, Research) and which is sponsored by a subsidiary of the World Gold Council, rose slightly in line with firming cash gold prices.

The turnover of 48,350 shares, or 472.6 million yen ($4.45 million), fell short of what some had expected.

One share in the ETF is equivalent to one-tenth of an ounce of gold, with a minimum trading unit in Tokyo of 50 shares and management fees of about 0.4 percent a year.