Fidelity has filed an application with the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) to launch its Asia Pacific Opportunities Fund, according to the regulator’s website.
Once approved, it will be available to retail investors in the Lion City. The product is already available to retail investors in Hong Kong and was launched in 2008 in Europe.
Year-to-date, the highly concentrated fund has a negative return of -7.3%, which was nonetheless better than its benchmark the MSCI AC Asia Pacific Index (-9.68%), according to FE Fundinfo.
The three-year cumulative return is far better, clearly outpacing the benchmark (see chart below).
Managed by Anthony Srom, the product gets a forward-looking analyst rating of Bronze, according to a recent Morningstar report.
“Srom employs a high-conviction and contrarian-oriented approach that is well-codified and distinct. He determines suitability on three major tenets: fundamentals, market sentiment and valuation,” the report said.
“To purchase a stock, Srom requires a positive view on two of the three aforementioned criteria, together with an expected total annual return of 10%. The resulting portfolio is concentrated, comprising 25-35 stocks, with wide latitude at the sector and country levels, resulting in active share that has trended above 90%.
“One high-conviction call has been Chinese baijiu maker Kweichow Moutai, which has risen above 500% since it was originally purchased in July 2015,” the report added.
Amundi EM bond fund
Separately, the Amundi Funds Emerging Markets Bond Fund is waiting for approval from the MAS, according to the regulator’s records. Once approved, it will be available to retail investors in Singapore.
Co-managed by Yerlan Syzdykov and Ray Jian, the fund was launched in 2000, according to FE Fundinfo.
The investment focus is emerging market government and corporate bonds denominated in US dollars or other OECD currencies, its factsheet said.
The top ten issuers include Indonesian state-owned oil and natural gas corporation, PT Pertamina (3.44%), and China’s property developer giants, China Evergrande Group (3.02%) and Sunac China Holdings (2.81%), the factsheet noted.
The Fidelity Funds – Asia Pacific Opportunities Fund vs category average and benchmark
The Amundi Funds Emerging Markets Bond vs category average and benchmark
