fund
FSSA Asian Equity Plus III GBP
An cautious Asia Pacific ex Japan equity fund paying a reasonable yield.
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2320.01p
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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2320.01p
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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1.00%
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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1.04%
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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1.60%
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 to achieve capital growth whilst also paying a reasonable yield. The manager Martin Lau invests with an absolute return mindset and aims to identify companies with strong corporate governance and balance sheets. He is prudent with risk/reward and avoids those that are too highly priced. Though the mandate has a dividend requirement there is not a specific yield target, in particular Lau is wary of sacrificing quality for yield, thereby compromising his total return mindset.
Fund summary
| Sector | |
| Structure | OFFSHORE FUND |
| Launched | June, 2014 |
| Size | £4,389m |
| Yield | 1.60% |
| Charging basis | Capital |
| Dividends paid | Feb, Aug |
Charges
| Standard initial charge | 0.00% |
| Initial charge via Bestinvest | 0.00% |
| Additional bid/offer spread | 0.00% |
| Annual management charge | 1.00% |
| Ongoing charges figure | 1.04% |
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Investment process
Bottom-up stock selection forms the foundation of the investment process. The manager relies heavily on qualitative analysis and his team's own research and contact network to generate ideas. Sustainability of earnings and earnings growth are key considerations for potential investee companies. The team carries out over 1000 company meetings each year, assessing the company based on Quality, Growth and Price in an effort to identify good companies with growth potential that are being mis-priced by the market. Qualitative analysis is supported by quantitative analysis of the financial strength of each company. This research gives rise to a watchlist of around 350 stocks. These stocks will have a clear statement on entry prices as well as review prices to enable the construction of a portfolio of stocks which are trading below their fair value. There is no explicit dividend requirement, but the income mandate for this fund will naturally lead the manager to favour stocks with a strong dividend yield. As a result, the fund is likely to have a higher weighting to sectors such as telecoms than a pure growth mandate.
Martin Lau is an experienced fund manager investing in the Asia Pacific ex Japan region and is supported by strong analytical resource with small team based in Asia, following First State Investment's split-up in 2015. The manager adopts a pragmatic medium to long term investment approach with a flexible style that will adapt to prevailing economic conditions. His focus is on absolute return with prudent risk/return balance. Capital preservation is considered to be the foundation for long-term capital gains.
Manager research
Average monthly relative returns
- 16/17 -0.18%
- 17/18 -0.12%
- 18/19 0.15%
- 19/20 0.48%
- 20/21 0.07%
Bestinvest MRI
- 3 years 0.23%
- 5 years 0.08%
- Career 0.53%
- 3 years 91.00%
- 5 years 81.30%
- Career 99.80%
Performance figures are based on the average of monthly percentage returns relative to the benchmark index.
Martin Lau
Lau joined First State in April 2002 as a Senior Portfolio Manager, and is responsible for Asia Focus, Greater China and regional funds- the former now officially separated from Tulloch’s Asia Pacific Leaders fund. He was appointed Director, Greater China Equities, in October 2003 following the merger of their Edinburgh-based Asia Pacific team with the Hong Kong and Singapore Asian teams. He started his investment career at Invesco in 1995 and assumed responsibility for their Greater China fund in 1998; other responsibilities included a smaller companies fund and regional portfolios. Lau graduated from Cambridge University with a BA and Masters in Engineering, and is also a Chartered Financial Analyst. Lau is based in Hong Kong.
Track record
Martin Lau has 22.8 years experience of managing mutual funds in this sector. Over this period the average monthly return relative to the benchmark index has been +0.53%. During the worst period of relative performance (from January 1998 - February 2000) there was a decline of 35% relative to the index. The worst absolute loss has been 54%. Statistically, we estimate the probability that this fund manager is adding value, rather than being lucky, is more than 99%.
Periods of worst performance
| Absolute | -54.00% (February 1998 - August 1998) |
| Relative | -35.00% (January 1998 - February 2000) |
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.
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Portfolio
The portfolio can be diversified as it holds 40-100 stocks.
Constraints
Max individual position 5%