Fund selector AsiA pAciFic ex JApAn Funds
top ranked funds Assets under management
“
unfair though it
might be, our sense
has always been that
[mark] mobius has
long been more
a figurehead than
an active investment
participant, a name
on which investors
can hang their hat
”
and have trust
top funds by AuM – 3-year risk/return
Return (%)
50 First State
Asia Pacific A £ First State Asia Pacific Leaders A £
40
30
20
10 Schroder ISF Emg Asia A Acc SLTM Pacific Basin
4
5 6 7 8
Standard deviation (%)
To 6 Oct ’08. No 3-year figure for Invesco Asia Infrastructure AD
Bid to bid, £, gross income, no cap.Source: Morningstar
Aberdeen Global
Asia Pacific Eq A2
Fund Picker’s
comment
Justin Oliver,
CO-manager, COllins
stewart seleCtfunds
Money is always attracted
to funds that produce consistent
superior returns and
we explain in the threeyear
performance analysis
(page 40) that First State
and Aberdeen are at the
top of the peer group over
the long term.
Asian equities are
known for their volatility,
so First State’s and
Aberdeen’s conservative
approach and strong risk
management suit investors
who are making a longterm
allocation to Asia. It
also means they can be
blended with other more
aggressive offerings (a core
and satellite approach)
should an investor wish to
increase their beta within
the region.
Both funds have over
£2bn assets under manage-
FF South East Asia A $
Aberdeen Asia
Pacific A Acc
Sector avg
*launched mar ’06. to 6 Oct ’08. Bid to bid, £, gross income, no cap. source: morningstar
Templeton Asian
Growth A Y-D $
ment and, given that the
average fund in the sector
has a more modest £228m,
this is a telling statistic.
l Familiar names
The other largest players
comprise those groups you
would expect; Fidelity,
Templeton, Schroder and
Invesco Perpetual.
Templeton’s Mark
Mobius is a particularly
top 10 biggest Asia pacific ex Japan thematic funds
Fidelity South East Asia
Fund AnAlysis
n the Fidelity south east Asia Fund, managed by Alan Liu, has
a 29.7% allocation to financials and admits that some of these
stocks, the Fubon Bank and the Bank of east Asia in particular,
fell on the back of concerns about the sector. Liu adds: “the latter
was further impacted as unconfirmed reports raised questions
about its stability, which caused depositors to withdraw money.”
n He has sold his holding in china mengniu dairy as its financial
position weakened following one of its products being found to
contain an industrial chemical linked to infant deaths.
n the fund shares three-quarters of its country allocation between
china (27%), Hong kong (18%), south korea (16.7%) and
taiwan (15%).
n the performance of the fund has been poor, with its own fact
sheet for the end of september showing a 41.3% loss so far
this year, and a 29.3% loss in the past six months.
36 PORTFOLIO ADVISER [www.portfolio-adviser.com] DEcEMbER 2008
well-known commentator
on emerging markets and
he often appears in the
media extolling the virtues
of the region.
Unfair though it might
be, our sense has always
been that Mobius has long
been more a figurehead
than an active investment
participant, a name on
which investors can hang
their hat and have trust,
certainly in comparison
3-year 3-year 3-year 3-year 3-year morningstar Fund domicile
% chg Alpha Beta r² volatility rating size (£m)
templeton asian growth a Y-d $ 23.86 0.14 1.1 0.92 7.43 HHHH 2,940.67 luxembourg
aberdeen global asia Pacific equity a2 17.4 0.08 0.74 0.9 5.04 HHHHH 2,930.25 luxembourg
ff – south east asia a $ 33.71 0.3 1.04 0.94 6.89 HHHH 1,870.2 luxembourg
first state asia Pacific leaders a £ 43.79 0.62 0.71 0.86 4.93 HHHHH 1,737.11 uK
invesco asia infrastructure ad* n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a – 1,579.92 luxembourg
aberdeen asia Pacific a acc 20.24 0.1 0.77 0.89 5.26 HHHHH 1,291.06 uK
sltm Pacific Basin 14.84 -0.18 0.94 0.9 6.36 HHH 1,093.95 uK
schroder isf emerging asia a acc 11.98 -0.16 0.96 0.96 6.3 HHH 1,074.16 luxembourg
fidelity south east asia 35.32 0.31 1.12 0.96 7.36 HHHH 1,002.57 uK
first state asia Pacific a £ 38.14 0.51 0.7 0.88 4.79 HHHHH 774.69 uK
top 3 funds by AuM vs sector
%
150
120
90
60
30
0
-30
Oct ’05 Apr ’06 Oct
Source: Morningstar
FF South East Asia A $
Aberdeen Glbl Asia
Pacific Eq A2 Acc
MSCI World $
Apr ’07
with Hugh Young and
Angus Tulloch.
l Jury is out
Oct
Templeton Asian
Growth A Dis $
Invesco’s Asia Infrastructure
offering has the shortest
performance history of the
selection and this is testament
to the easily appreciated
theme by which the
fund’s investments are
selected. The results are
inconclusive to date; it
remains to be seen whether
investors would be best
served by holding these
stocks within one dedicated
fund, or relying on more
generalist managers to
overweight these stocks
should they believe they
are most attractive.
Certainly, more generalist
managers will not be as
constrained by investing in
one particular sub-set,
although the argument has
been well made that the
stocks held by the infrastructure
vehicle are diverse
in nature.
Apr ’08
Oct
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