HEAD-TO-HEAD: First State vs Principal

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The First State’s lead fund manager is Martin Lau, who has led the fund since 2002, when he first joined the firm. Currently, he manages around $22bn across a number of Greater China and Asia-Pacific mandates, which Share said have delivered strong returns.

The First State fund draws on a team of about 17 analysts.

The Principal fund’s lead manager is Alan Wang, who first led the fund when it launched in 2005. In March 2008, he left the firm, joining Blackrock as a China equity manager and later at Ping An of China Asset Management as head of equity investment.

He rejoined Principal in December 2012, resuming his role as the fund’s lead manager.

Wang is part of the global emerging markets team, which has around 10 members, but is not necessarily dedicated to China research. Three members of the team are dedicated to China and Hong Kong research, according to Share.

Share likes the management team of the First State fund, given the track record of Lau and his team. However, she noted that Lau’s Hong Kong-based team used to work with the firm’s Edinburgh-based team until a split in July 2016.

In spite of the split, Share does not have any concerns about the strength and research capabilities of the Hong Kong-based team, adding that the team is also potentially developing global emerging market capabilities.

For the Principal fund, although there are only three dedicated China and Hong Kong researchers, Share does not have any concerns with that since the fund follows a quantitative model.

However, she would like to see a stronger commitment from Wang, given that he left the firm in 2008 and rejoined in 2012. But Share added that he is very personally involved in developing the quant model.

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