Thailand’s first democratically-elected parliament since the 2014 coup is set to open next week, although it is unclear who will take executive control as rival parties haggle for alliances.
The stronger economy last year reflects an upward trajectory since the coup prompted a sharp downturn. GDP growth was 1% in 2014, 3% in 2015, 3.3% in 2016 and 4% in 2017.
Share prices have followed that economic recovery, and Thai single-country mutual funds have earned solid three-year cumulative returns. Although, the best of them have not performed as well as the best China or India funds, they stand out among other single-country funds in the region.
Six out of the top eight actively-managed funds are Thailand-focused, according to FE Analytics data.
They are led by funds managed by Templeton (52.09%), JP Morgan (46.87%) and Amundi (44.78%).
But only the Templeton fund managed to beat the MSCI Thailand Index.
In contrast, the worst performing funds over three years are concentrated on the Philippines and Indonesia, managed by JP Morgan (-6.32%) and Parvest (-3.13%), respectively, according to FE Analytics data.
Best performing Thailand single-country funds
| Fund |
3-year annual return % |
3-year annual volatility | Information ratio |
Alpha |
| Templeton Thailand |
15.29 |
12.33 | 0.88 |
10.19 |
| JP Morgan Thailand |
14.60 |
13.03 | 0.91 |
8.35 |
| Amundi Equity Thailand |
13.21 |
12.49 | 0.78 |
7.29 |
| MSCI Thailand |
14.62 |
12.82 | – |
– |
| Asia-Pacific (ex-Asean and Australia) single country average |
6.32 |
10.06 | – |
– |
Source: FE Analytics. Data in US dollars, 21 May 2016 – 17 May 2019
Top 3 Thailand funds vs Asia Pacific (Asean and Australia only) single-country fund sector average
