Funds to watch – newcomers
- JOHCM Japan Dividend Growth is run by experienced managers Scott McGlashan and Ruth Nash (pictured), who have long managed the mid-cap value-focused Japan product at JOHCM and have expanded their offering with this newer, large-cap value proposition. The strategy aims to take advantage of Japan’s growing dividend evolution through a portfolio that incorporates elements of dividend growth and dividend yield.
- Chris Taylor celebrated his 10-year anniversary of managing Japanese equities at Neptune in June 2015 by launching Neptune Japan Institutional. The latest strategy offers investors both a hedged and unhedged share class alongside Neptune Japan Opportunities, which is typically fully hedged.
- First State Japan Focus is a relatively new strategy that boosts the group’s Asian offering and is its first pure Japan strategy. Managed under the new Stewart Asia umbrella, the fund takes advantage of the research that feeds into the pan-Asian strategies. You can expect conviction investments in quality companies that offer strong earnings growth potential and a fund that should provide attractive downside protection characteristics when markets head south.
Funds to watch – AUM
- Schroder Tokyo is a long-established and well-regarded fund managed by Japan veteran Andrew Rose. He uses the Schroders analyst research team to identify names that are trading at attractive valuations with good upside potential. This is a reasonably core Japan fund with a slight value bias, which means performance may deviate from the market when growth style is dominant but the longer-term track record is strong.
- Managed as a boutique fund by a small team of dedicated Japan specialists headed by Andrew Harker, Man GLG Japan CoreAlpha looks for large-cap names that are trading at a significant discount to their net asset value. A strong value and large-cap bias means the fund will do well when the market is rewarding this style but performance may lag behind when growth or small-cap themes are dominant.
- Baillie Gifford Japanese is a growth fund that has a long-term investment horizon with a low portfolio turnover. Co-managers Sarah Whitley (pictured) and Matthew Brett look for quality growth names they feel are able to deliver consistent long-term growth. Short-term positioning and performance may deviate noticeably from the benchmark but the long-term track record is strong and the team is well regarded.
