London, 11 February 2008 – Fidelity International is next week launching a new, aggressive equity fund for investors who want to tap into the faster growing economies of the Asian region.
Run by David Urquhart, who has 20 years experience of Asian equity investment, the Fidelity Investment Funds Asian Aggressive Fund will be a high-conviction portfolio of between 55 and 85 holdings. Mr Urquhart, who is based in Hong Kong, will take advantage of Fidelity’s award winning Asian-based investment team to help him roam the 13 stock markets of the wider Asia Pacific region* in pursuit of some of the most attractive investment opportunities. Japan is excluded from the portfolio, but companies in countries as diverse as New Zealand and Thailand do qualify for inclusion.
The Fidelity
Asian Aggressive Fund is aimed at adventurous investors who want to benefit from the rapidly expanding economies of the Asia Pacific and the diversity of their markets. Performance is expected to be volatile over shorter periods, but Mr Urquhart is optimistic about the region’s long term prospects.
“Besides a strong economic backdrop, there are many world class companies emerging in the region.” comments Mr Urquhart. “Take, for example; WorleyParsons, an Australian group, which provides services to heavy engineering and oil companies. It now has a presence in 32 countries. Another example is NHN, often referred to as the Google of Korea.”
He adds: “Economic growth in the Asia ex-Japan region is forecast to be far faster than in the markets of Europe and the United States. GDP in Australia is expected to grow by 3.5% this year and Korea by 5.2%, according to the OECD. By contrast, GDP growth in the UK and US is forecast to be below trend at 2%**.”
Mr Urquhart also believes that the far younger populations of the region – the average age in India is still expected to be below 30 years in 2023*** – will contribute to the faster rate of economic growth as they will drive consumption. In addition, spending on new infrastructure and rapid urbanisation could both be profitable investment themes.
About the fund
The FIF Asian Aggressive Fund has an initial charge of 3.5% and an annual management charge of 1.5%. The minimum investment in the fund is £1,000 and £500 for top-ups. The fund will also be available for regular savings plan (with a monthly minimum of £50) and for regular withdrawals through the Fidelity withdrawal plan. The fund will also be available within ISA and PEP wrappers. The manager also has the option to make use of the wider investment powers available under UCITS III.
Fidelity’s Asian equity team
With a presence in Tokyo since 1969, Fidelity has since expanded its investment research team throughout the region and now has around 100 investment professionals in Australia, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Korea, Singapore and Taiwan****.
Some of the more popular funds available to UK investors include:
- FIF South East Asia Fund run by Allan Liu
- FF Asian Special Situations Fund run by Joseph Tse
- Fidelity also has a range of single country funds in the region including the popular FF China Focus and FF India Focus funds, respectively run by Martha Wang and Arun Mehra.
About the manager
David Urquhart joined Fidelity in 1996 as a research analyst. He has previously managed the FF Australia, FF Singapore and FF Korea funds. Since June 2006, David has run a very successful pilot fund run on the same mandate as the new fund. He also manages the FF Institutional Asia Pacific ex-Japan Opportunities Fund which has a similar investment remit to the FIF Asian Aggressive Fund. David is based in Fidelity’s Hong Kong office.
FIL Limited (“FIL”) and its subsidiary companies serve the major markets of the world by providing investment products and services to individuals and
institutional investors outside the US. The FIL Organisation manages a total of £151 billion of assets*****.
Notes to editors:
*Source: DataStream as at 29.01.08. MSCI All Countries Asia Pacific ex Japan.
** Source: www.oecd.org OECD Economic Outlook 82
***Source: www.asianz.org.nz Mega Trends - The Ageing of Asia
****Source: Fidelity as at 31.12.07
*****Source: Fidelity as at 31.12.07
Any opinions expressed are made at the time of writing and can be subject to change without notification. The value of investments can go down as well as up and an investor may not get back the original amount invested. For funds that invest in overseas markets, changes in currency exchange rates may affect the value of an investment. Investments in small and emerging markets can be more volatile than other more developed markets. Past performance is not a guide to future returns. Reference in this document to specific securities should not be construed as a recommendation to buy or sell these securities, but is included for the purposes of illustration only. Investors should also note that the views expressed may no longer be current and may have already been acted upon by Fidelity. Fidelity Funds and Fidelity Funds II are open-ended investment companies established in Luxembourg with different classes of shares. The UK distributor of Fidelity Funds and Fidelity Funds II is FIL Investments International. The Authorised Corporate Director of Fidelity Investment Funds is FIL Investment Services (UK) Limited. The Full Prospectus and Simplified Prospectus for these funds are available from Fidelity on request. Fidelity Investment Trusts are managed by FIL Investments International a company authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority. The Fidelity ISA is offered and managed by Financial Administration Services Limited. The world's investment specialist: These figures reflect the resources of FIL Limited and its subsidiaries, and FMR LLC and affiliate and its subsidiaries. Source: FIL and FMR LLC as at 31.12.07. Assets as at 31.12.07 are those of FIL. Fidelity, Fidelity International and Pyramid Logo are trademarks of FIL Limited.
