Man GLG’s Stephen Harker has 30 years of industry experience and has concentrated on the Japanese equity market since April 1984. Prior to managing the Man GLG Japan Fund, Harker joined TCW London International, where he built a track record as a contrarian investor.
TCW was acquired in 2001 by Société Générale Asset Management (SGAM). As a result, Harker joined SGAM UK where he continued to manage Japanese equity portfolios. SGAM UK was acquired by GLG Partners in 2009.
Harker is supported by three other team analysts who each have a decade of experience in Japanese equities.
Fees review
The Polar vehicle has a standard initial charge of 5.00%, with an annual management charge of 1.50% and ongoing charges of 1.65%.
By comparison, the Man GLG product has a standard initial charge of 5.00%, with an annual management charge of 1.50% and ongoing charges of 1.86%.
Luke Ng, senior vice president at FE Advisory, said that the fees for the two funds are in line with peer products, and therefore should not be a decisive factor for a potential investor.
Conclusion
Ang said that Japanese equities still look attractive and she appreciates the value style of investing, which both fund managers adopt.
Between the two, the Polar vehicle provides lower volatility. Ang noted that an advantage is the fund’s slow shift away from exporters toward domestic companies. The fund should benefit if a market rally materialises, she said.
Man GLG has been the outperformer among the two, as noted earlier. However, it tends to have higher volatility than the Polar product.
The Man GLG fund also targets stocks in large and value segments, mainly exporters. With the biggest Japanese companies generating a significant portion of revenues from Asian neighbours and the rest of the world, the fund should perform well under conditions of buoyant global growth, she said.
