fund
This is one of our rated funds. They’re the ones our experts believe will do well for investors over the longer term. Top of the class!
Stewart Investors Asia Pacific Leaders Sustainability B
Defensive large-cap Asia Pacific equity fund with a quality focus.
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304.02p
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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984.46p
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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4.00% 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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0.85%
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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0.85%
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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0.60%
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 objective of the fund is to grow capital by investing in primarily large-cap companies in Asia and Australasia that are positioned to benefit from, and contribute to, the sustainable development of the countries in which they operate. Fund manager David Gait invests from the bottom up with an absolute return mindset and without any benchmark constraints, allowing him to buy any company that generates the majority of its revenue from the region. He favours high quality companies identified to be cash generative with strong balance sheets. Engagement with management of portfolio companies is key: Gait and his team make sure that senior managers’ interests are aligned with shareholders. The final portfolio is concentrated, with investments held for the long term.
Fund summary
| Sector | Specialist |
| Structure | OEIC |
| Launched | December, 2003 |
| Size | £7,077m |
| Yield | 0.60% |
| Charging basis | Income |
| Dividends paid | 31 Mar, 30 Sep |
Charges
| Standard initial charge | 4.00% |
| Initial charge via Bestinvest | 0.00% |
| Additional bid/offer spread | 0.00% |
| Annual management charge | 0.85% |
| Ongoing charges figure | 0.85% |
Allocation
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Investment process
The manager employs a fundamental, bottom-up investment approach, targeting companies deemed to have quality in either financials, management and/or franchise. In addition to this he analyses the sustainability of each business with a focus on those that are positive to the social and economic aspects of the country in which they operate. Stock research is conducted by a well-resourced team based in Australia, Singapore, London and Edinburgh. Investment ideas are primarily sourced from company visits, research trips, industry contacts and third party research - typically the team conduct over 1300 company meetings per year. Portfolio holdings typically have strong balance sheets, are cash generative, shareholder friendly and are able to grow their revenues and profits sustainably and predictably. The investment horizon is generally medium to long term and the manager avoids 'momentum' type stocks. The team uses its own proprietary research tools and prefers to meet management of businesses before and when it invests. Decision-making takes into account factors such as quality of research, team decisions and views, and the manager's own knowledge of the companies. Final stock decisions and portfolio construction are the responsibility of the portfolio manager.
Though David Gait only became lead manager of this fund in 2016, he is a Stewart Investors veteran, having worked for the company since 1997 and had already built up a strong track record on its Asia Pacific Sustainability fund, which is run with the same investment mantra. He benefits from the backing of a strong and stable analyst team. Gait is a cautious investor, prioritising capital preservation more than most of his peers, and as a result tends to outperform in falling markets, but lag when they rise strongly. His portfolios have a structural bias to India and away from China.
Manager research
Average monthly relative returns
- 16/17 -0.70%
- 17/18 -0.38%
- 18/19 0.51%
- 19/20 0.00%
- 20/21 -0.15%
Bestinvest MRI
- 3 years 0.12%
- 5 years -0.14%
- Career 0.31%
- 3 years 68.80%
- 5 years 40.90%
- Career 99.40%
Performance figures are based on the average of monthly percentage returns relative to the benchmark index.
David Gait
Gait is based in Australia and is a veteran at Stewart Investors where he is the head of the ‘Sustainability Funds Group’. Originally joining as an analyst in 1997, Gait launched his own Asia Pacific fund in 2005 which had an emphasis on sustainable investments within the asset class. Gait holds an MA with honours in Economics from Cambridge University, and an MSc in Investment Analysis from Stirling University. He is an Associate member of the UK Society of Investment Professionals.
Track record
David Gait has 15.3 years experience of managing mutual funds in this sector. Over this period the average monthly return relative to the benchmark index has been +0.31%. During the worst period of relative performance (from May 2016 - January 2018) there was a decline of 18% relative to the index. The worst absolute loss has been 33%. 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 | -33.00% (December 2007 - November 2008) |
| Relative | -18.00% (May 2016 - January 2018) |
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
| 5.7% | Unicharm Corp |
| 5% | Hoya Corp |
| 4.7% | Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing |
| 4.6% | Tata Consultancy Services |
| 4.4% | Csl |
| 4.4% | Mahindra & Mahindra |
| 3.9% | Tech Mahindra |
| 3.6% | Housing Development Finance Corporation Limited |
| 3.2% | President Chain Store Corp |
| 3% | Marico |
| Source: Trustnet |
Sector breakdown
| Information Technology | 25.00% |
| Consumer Staples | 22.00% |
| Health Care | 16.00% |
| Financials | 11.00% |
| Cash & Cash Equivalents | 10.00% |
| Industrials | 6.00% |
| Consumer Discretionary | 4.00% |
| Materials | 3.00% |
| Communications | 2.00% |
Portfolio
Typically 30-60 stocks.
Constraints
Portfolio is relatively unconstrained with limits of a maximum of 30% in any sector. Some limits also apply to country weights. Max 10% in companies under $1bn market value.