Managed by the head of BlackRock’s Asian fundamental equities team Andrew Swan with Emily Dong, the BlackRock Asia Special Situations fund will be a concentrated, high conviction and high alpha portfolio of 30 to 60 domestic companies. The team will aim to identify companies which could become leaders of the future, irrespective of current benchmark weightings.
The fund has a similar investment strategy to the existing $94m Luxembourg domiciled BGF Asian Growth Leaders fund, managed by the same pair, which launched in October 2012. The fund is up almost 30% net of fees since launch and well ahead of its benchmark, the MSCI AC Asia ex Japan index.
“Over time, the fund will have a mid-cap bias, ensuring we focus on the potential Asia success stories of the future,” said Swan.
“We will be looking for new companies and new management teams that are emerging within the vibrant Asian market.”
The new fund will specifically target UK investors, following the launch of the BlackRock Asia fund last year. Jeremy Roberts, head of UK retail sales at BlackRock, said:
“The investment opportunities in Asia are rapidly changing and we believe having flexibility and pragmatism will be the key to generating returns from Asian equities in the future.”
“Andrew and Emily will take an unconstrained approach to identify companies in emerging industries, whilst drawing upon the growth potential offered by mid-cap stocks, which have historically offered superior returns compared to large-caps,” Roberts continued.
“Andrew has built a strong Asian equities franchise since joining BlackRock in 2011.”
“The demand for goods and services from a wealthier, expanding middle class has become a major driver of economic growth in Asia,” added Swan. “To take advantage of this growth we will have a high conviction, flexible and pragmatic approach to increase the long-term capital growth potential of the portfolio.”
The minimum investment for the fund’s A share class is £500. The fund has an initial charge of 5% and an annual management fee of 1.5%.
