fund
FSSA Asian Equity Plus III GBP
Cautious large & mid-cap Asia Pacific ex-Japan equity growth fund.
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2210.58p
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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2210.58p
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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1.20%
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 over time rather than to simply outperform any benchmark, through investment in large and mid-sized Asian (ex Japan) and Australasian equities. Manager Martin Lau invests with an absolute return mindset and aims to identify companies with strong management teams, franchises and balance sheets. He adopts a pragmatic medium to long-term investment approach with a flexible style that will adapt to prevailing economic conditions. He is prudent with risk/reward and avoids companies that are too highly priced.
Fund summary
| Sector | |
| Structure | OFFSHORE FUND |
| Launched | June, 2014 |
| Size | £4,815m |
| Yield | 1.20% |
| 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% |
Allocation
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Investment process
Bottom-up stock selection forms the foundation of the investment process. The team identifies companies with strong competitive advantages, franchise, balance sheet or management that have sustainable long-term earnings per share growth prospects. The team have a strong valuation discipline, not wanting to diminish the upside and increase the downside risk by over paying for a company. Company visits are considered paramount, and the team undertakes approximately 1000 one-to-one company meetings each year. The team's research analysts have significant input on stock ideas and recommendations for the portfolio. Team discussions around assumptions, potential risks and rewards, valuations and macro-overlays take place formally and informally. The manager is responsible for forming and managing the portfolio, deciding on price, quantity, timing of purchases and sales.
Martin Lau is an experienced fund manager investing in the Asia Pacific ex Japan region and is supported by strong analytical resource with a small team based in Asia. His focus is on absolute returns with prudent risk/return balance and considers capital preservation to be the foundation for long-term wealth creation. As a results his funds have historically delivered a degree of protection from falling markets, and though they often lag rising markets he has delivered benchmark-beating returns over the long term. This fund is managed pari passu with FSSA Asia Focus, its onshore equivalent.
Manager research
Average monthly relative returns
- 16/17 -0.10%
- 17/18 0.13%
- 18/19 0.01%
- 19/20 0.09%
- 20/21 0.56%
Bestinvest MRI
- 3 years 0.22%
- 5 years 0.14%
- Career 0.53%
- 3 years 90.70%
- 5 years 90.30%
- 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 23.1 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.
Allocation
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Top 10 holdings
Data accurate as at 31 January 2021
| 7.5% | Taiwan Semiconductor Manu |
| 5.1% | Tencent |
| 4.9% | Samsung Electronics |
| 4.5% | HDFC |
| 3.2% | CSL |
| 3.2% | NAVER |
| 3.2% | Midea Group |
| 2.9% | Tata Consultancy Services |
| 2.7% | China Mengniu Dairy |
| 2.7% | ResMed |
| Source: FSSA |
Portfolio
The portfolio is fairly diversified, containing 40-100 securities.
Constraints
Max individual position 5% at purchase.