The FSA Spy market buzz – 26 April 2024
Golden mystery, Next big Healthtech thing, Plastic everywhere, The Magnificent Seven wane, Dreary fund presentation hell, Putting The Economist in its place, A touch of Shakespeare and much more.
The Asia-Pacific ex-Japan fund category offers Hong Kong and Singapore retail investors plenty of choice. There are 120 funds available, run by the world’s leading asset management firms as well as home-grown regional specialists.
However, the long-run performance of the sector is mixed. The average three-year cumulative return is 28.73% in US dollar terms, according to FE Analytics data. That’s well below the 44.15% return of the MSCI AC Asia ex-Japan index.
The relative performance has been much better during the four-month long rally in Asian markets from the start of the year, when the US Federal Reserve announced its U-turn on its interest policy.
The sector has generated an average 12.93% return from 1 January – which is less than the 14.07% return by the index.
Against a background of renewed investor confidence in the sector, FSA asked Darius McDermott, managing director of Chelsea Financial Services and Fund Calibre, to compare two Asia-Pacific ex-Japan equity funds: the Fidelity Asia Pacific Opportunities Fund and the Invesco Asian Equity Fund.
Golden mystery, Next big Healthtech thing, Plastic everywhere, The Magnificent Seven wane, Dreary fund presentation hell, Putting The Economist in its place, A touch of Shakespeare and much more.
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