Bestinvest says
This is a Japanese smaller companies fund and, as such, it is very volatile. The manager has a very long track record in Japan and has had some periods of significant out performance but these are not sustained and over the long term investors are likely to experience losses, at times these losses will be considerable. We recommend investors consider funds in which we have a higher conviction such as those rated 4 and 5 stars.
The fund aims to achieve longer term capital growth through diversified investment in Japanese equities. Identification of longer term themes is key to the Funnex process. These themes can be structural, regulatory or based on changing demographics. A recent example has been the increasing demand for electronics in autos. These themes then guide stock selection whilst a team of analysts are employed to carry out in depth fundamental stock research. There may be times in light of adverse conditions when the manager will wish to hold positions in cash or near cash instruments. The trust usually has a bias towards small and mid-cap stocks and therefore displays a high level of active risk or tracking error relative to its benchmark.