Beyond AI: Three overlooked Asian stocks demonstrating long-term growth
The region’s success is based on more than AI and semiconductors.
FSA looks at the best performing global equity funds over June and July amidst a volatile unwind of a crowded artificial intelligence trade.

The start of summer saw a sharp reversal of a crowded momentum and artificial intelligence (AI) trade, sparking volatility in tech stocks, which weighed down global equity returns.
This was coupled with the continued conflict in the Middle East and upward pressure on bond yields over worries concerning rising inflation, fiscal deficits and bond issuance by both governments and technology companies.
Despite a relatively flat return for the period, global indices were under pressure from wild moves in tech stocks, most notably in semiconductors.

During this period, global equity funds focused on healthcare, value and defensive stocks were among the best performers, according to data compiled from FE fundinfo.
Below, FSA looks at the top 10 performing global equity funds available for distribution in either Hong Kong or Singapore for the 10-week period between 1/6/26 to 10/8/2026.
| Fund | Return in USD (%) |
| Janus Henderson Horizon Biotechnology | 17.28 |
| iShares Ageing Population UCITS ETF | 12.89 |
| MFS Meridian Contrarian Value | 12.04 |
| Fidelity FAST Global | 11.45 |
| DWS Invest CROCI World Value | 11.06 |
| Lazard Global Equity Franchise | 10.91 |
| iShares MSCI EAFE Value Index | 10.13 |
| Allspring (Lux) Worldwide Global Small Cap Equity | 10.02 |
| Algebris Financial Equity | 9.97 |
| Troy Asset Management Ltd Trojan Ethical Income | 9.94 |
| MFS Meridian Global Concentrated | 9.7 |
| Dominion Global Trends Managed | 9.47 |
| BNP Paribas SMaRT FOOD | 9.36 |
| Schroder ISF Global Sustainable Value | 9.28 |
| Robeco Biodiversity Equities | 9.2 |
| JPM Global Healthcare | 9.2 |
| VP Bank Future Citizen | 8.9 |
| Redwheel Global Intrinsic Value | 8.72 |
| DWS Invest CROCI Global Dividends | 8.66 |
| Morgan Stanley Global Endurance | 8.64 |
The top performer over the summer period was Janus Henderson Horizon Biotechnology, managed by Andy Acker, Daniel Lyons and Agustin Mohedas. This fund posted a strong return of 17.28% during the 10-week period.
Biotechnology stocks have seen a recent surge as companies in the sector continue to make clinical breakthroughs and large-cap pharmaceutical firms accelerate their merger and acquisition activity.
The Nasdaq Biotechnology index is up 19.15% year-to-date, outpacing the broader Nasdaq Composite index return of 15% and the S&P 500 index return of 13.5% over the same period.
Several value-focused strategies feature in the list of top-performers, including MFS Meridian Contrarian Value, DWS Invest CROCI World Value and iShares MSCI EAFE Value Index.
Value funds performed strongly during the momentum unwind as investors tended to favour cheap stocks with a margin of safety and stable earnings growth as high-flying growth names sold off.
Elsewhere, two strategies with a focus on investing in stocks with defensive characteristics were also top performers: namely Lazard Global Equity Franchise and Trojan Ethical Income.
The Lazard Global Equity Franchise, managed by Warryn Robertson, John Mulquiney, Bertrand Cliquet and Matthew Landy, invests in companies they consider have an “economic franchise” in the form of high earnings predictability and large competitive advantages.
The Trojan Ethical Income fund, managed by Blake Hutchins, Fergus McCorkell and Aniruddha Kulkarni, focuses on investing in companies with growing dividends through what they call a “conservative” quality-orientated process.
Sebastian Paredes, head of North Asia and CEO of DBS Bank (Hong Kong), will be retiring from executive duties.
The fund will be distributed to retail investors in Mainland China through Tianhong Asset Management.
Penny Low is part of Bank of Singapore’s Greater China and North Asia team.