The FSA Spy market buzz – 12 April 2024
Equity that is not Kool, Abrdn’s fund closures, Lombard Odier loves private markets, China’s ugly debt graph, Mountainous interest rate analogies, US housing costs, Gold smuggling, Advertising and much more.
HEAD-TO-HEAD: Blackrock versus Fidelity
FSA compares two Asian fixed income products: the Blackrock GF Asian Tiger Bond Fund and the Fidelity Asian Bond Fund.
Introduction
Asia appears to be recovering from the Covid-19 pandemic faster than the rest of the world.
Yet, Asian government bond yields are currently yielding more than their developed market counterparts, while central bank policy rates in the region are generally higher too.
Moreover, the diversity of Asian economies suggests that Asian credit can offer global investors significant return opportunities and diversification benefits. Improving financial ratios among issuers and manageable default rates further burnish their appeal, according to the sector’s advocates.
For instance, Asian investment grade bonds offer healthy credit fundamentals and relative stability, while Asian high yield bonds provide incremental income but with historically lower volatility compared to global peers
FSA asked Isaac Poole, global chief investment officer at Oreana Portfolio Advisory, to select and compare two Asian credit products: the $4.2bn Blackrock GF Asian Tiger Bond Fund and the $2.4bn Fidelity Asian Bond Fund.
| Blackrock | Fidelity | |
| Size | $4.2bn | $2.4bn |
| Inception | 1996 | 2011 |
| Managers | Neeraj Seth, Artur Piasecki, Ronie Ganguly | Eric Wong, Belinda Liao, Morgan Lau |
| Three-year cumulative return | 11.53% | 18.17% |
| Three-year annualised return | 3.73% | 5.63% |
| Three-year annualised alpha | -0.02 | 0.41 |
| Three-year annualised volatility | 6.40% | 6.36% |
| Three-year information ratio | 0.14 | 0.53 |
| Morningstar star rating | **** | *** |
| Morningstar analyst rating | neutral | bronze |
| FE Crown fund rating | **** | ** |
| OCF (retail share class) | 1.22% | 1.06% |
Source: FE Fundinfo, Morningstar. (Data in US dollars, 21 October 2020)
Related Stories
Promoted Content
-
Who’s afraid of higher interest rates?
-
Accessing Asian 5G innovation: three key portfolio themes
-
China’s post-pandemic growth gathers pace
-
Unmasking the dividend opportunity
-
Fixed income – making ground in ESG as ETFs see rapid growth in AUM
-
Despite headwinds, ESG continues to perform
-
Impact opportunities: investing to limit biodiversity loss
-
Sustainable Investing in Changing Market Conditions
-
Dynamism is the name of the game for this global macro strategy
-
Tap into Japan’s post-pandemic growth trends
