fund
AXA Framlington Japan Z
Multi-cap Japanese equity fund with a growth style.
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210.60p
Price (Inc)
These are the shares in the fund that pay out an income to clients. The income is made up of the total dividends – the money a company can pay out to its investors – from the companies in the fund.
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309.30p
Price (Acc)
These are the shares in the fund that don’t pay out an income to clients. Any dividends – the money a company can pay out to its investors – are reinvested into companies in the fund. Despite no income, the shares should be worth more over time. Good incentive, eh?
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0.00%
Initial chargeSome funds charge you when you first invest, which is aptly known as the initial charge. They’re usually between 3-5% but at Bestinvest, we usually don’t charge you a penny!
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0.75%
Annual management charge
This is how much the fund management company charges to run the fund. It’s like paying a babysitter, dog sitter or house sitter (that makes well-informed, heavily researched changes to improve your baby/dog/house when needed).
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0.88%
Ongoing charges
This stands for Ongoing Charges Figure. It’s the cost of running a fund and includes admin fees, manager fees, administration costs, etc.
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0.50%
Yield
How much the fund is currently paying out in income to investors. It’s NOT to be confused with the overall growth of a fund – a very different thing indeed. It’s also NOT a guarantee of future pay-outs, just a snapshot. This is more what it’s not than what it is…
The fund aims for capital growth by investing in Japanese companies across all market capitalisations but with an emphasis on small and mid-sized businesses. Manager Chisako Hardie focusses on long-term growth companies which, she believes, have quality management and potential for above-average profitability and growth. This fund is not constrained by a benchmark and portfolio selection is a combination of macro themes blended with bottom-up stock selection.
Fund summary
| Sector | Japan |
| Structure | UNIT TRUST |
| Launched | April, 2012 |
| Size | £169m |
| Yield | 0.50% |
| Charging basis | Income |
| Dividends paid | 15 Apr |
Charges
| Standard initial charge | 0.00% |
| Initial charge via Bestinvest | 0.00% |
| Additional bid/offer spread | 0.00% |
| Annual management charge | 0.75% |
| Ongoing charges figure | 0.88% |
Allocation
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Investment process
Hardie uses a blend of macro themes and bottom-up stock selection to create a diversified portfolio of around 100 holdings. She focuses on companies that show robust growth prospects, proven management, strong balance sheets and attractive valuations. To keep liquidity risk low she avoids companies that are not tradeable within 10 days. When researching companies Hardie uses external research from a number of brokers, but due to poor coverage on small cap companies she conducts her own research. She has around 200 company meetings per year and assesses potential investment opportunities through the use of PE multiples for both the company and its peer group as well as DCF modelling. Based in Edinburgh, Hardie is a Japanese national and visits Japan bi-annually, typically investing in companies after having met with the management team. On a daily basis, she tracks a list of ca. 500 companies of interest and tends to hold investments for many years with a relatively low annual turnover of around 30%. Yet, she has a strong sell discipline, where holdings are sold when she has lost faith in the management or identifies a better opportunity. In situations where investments become fully valued, she typically sells and often re-purchases upon weakness if the company fundamentals remain intact.
Manager research
Average monthly relative returns
- 16/17 -1.00%
- 17/18 0.99%
- 18/19 0.12%
- 19/20 -0.16%
- 20/21 1.38%
Bestinvest MRI
- 3 years 0.45%
- 5 years 0.27%
- Career 0.06%
- 3 years 50.00%
- 5 years 50.00%
- Career 77.90%
Performance figures are based on the average of monthly percentage returns relative to the benchmark index.
Chisako Hardie
Hardie joined AXA Framlington in May 2006 after six years at Scottish Widows Investment Partnership, where she was an Investment Director within Japanese Equities. She previously worked for Martin Currie Investment Management Ltd (1996-2000), Scottish Life Assurance Company (1994-1996) and Scottish Provident (1991-1994). Hardie holds a BA in Sociology from Keio University, Tokyo and is a Chartered Member of the Securities Analysts Association of Japan.
Track record
Chisako Hardie has 11.9 years experience of managing mutual funds in this sector. Over this period the average monthly return relative to the benchmark index has been +0.06%. During the worst period of relative performance (from December 2005 - October 2008) there was a decline of 36% relative to the index. The worst absolute loss has been 51%. Statistically, we estimate the probability that this fund manager is adding value, rather than being lucky, is 78%.
Periods of worst performance
| Absolute | -51.00% (December 2005 - October 2008) |
| Relative | -36.00% (December 2005 - October 2008) |
About the MRI
Our unique indicator: the Bestinvest Manager Record Index (MRI) measures the likelihood that the fund manager is adding value through their decisions. It is based on their performance record over the course of their career, adjusted for the amount of risk taken. MRI is an important contributor to our fund rating system but it is also vital to take account of qualitative factors. It is also very important to select funds to form a cohesive portfolio with an appropriate overall risk level.
Allocation
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Top 10 holdings
Data accurate as at 31 July 2020
| 2.74% | Softbank Group Corp |
| 1.73% | Media Do Co Ltd |
| 1.6% | Net One Systems Co |
| 1.59% | M3 Inc |
| 1.57% | Kaga Electronics Co |
| 1.53% | Itochu Techno-Solutions Corp |
| 1.5% | Wacom Co |
| 1.48% | Daikin Industries |
| 1.45% | Sbi Hldgs Inc |
| 1.44% | Shift Inc |
| Source: Trustnet |
Sector breakdown
| Industrials | 25.00% |
| Technology | 21.00% |
| Health Care | 14.00% |
| Consumer Services | 11.00% |
| Consumer Goods | 10.00% |
| Financials | 7.00% |
| Basic Materials | 6.00% |
| Telecommunications | 3.00% |
| Money Market | 1.00% |
| Utilities | 1.00% |
Portfolio
The portfolio will consist of around 100 stocks with the top 10 typically making up less than 20% of the portfolio.
Constraints
Holdings are evenly spread and are no less than 0.5% or greater than 2%.