Investment trsut insider on abrdn Asia Focus – James Carthew: Exceptional Asia trusts are overdue a re-rating
Chinese-focused investment companies are thriving at a time when many are looking to diversify away from the US.
As investors look for alternatives to US assets, Asian markets (with the notable exception of India) have fared relatively well over the past 12 months.
Chinese-focused investment companies have been particularly exceptional. Fidelity China Special Situations (FCSS), which I wrote about in March, has seen a share price return of more than 90% over the past 12 months.
Looking at pan-Asia companies, the best-performing in NAV terms has been JPMorgan Asia Growth & Income (JAGI), up 30.0%, although discount narrowing means that Invesco Asia Dragon (IAD) tops the share price table with a return of 33.7%.
However, even IAD cannot match the impressive 35.4% share price return generated by Asian small cap specialist abrdn Asia Focus (AAS).
AAS is approaching the age of 30, having launched on 19 October 1995 as Abtrust Asian Smaller Companies, raising £35m. In retrospect, its timing was not great, coming as it did just ahead of 1997’s Asian financial crisis.
That crisis was born out of too much debt, weakening currencies, and a strong US dollar. Companies…. read more here