Often overlooked in favour of the Aberdeen Asia Pacific fund, Martin Currie Asia Pacific has in fact outperformed its longer-established rival over the past five years. Managed by Jason McCay, the £322m fund has returned 246% since 2003 against 180% for the average fund in the sector. Aberdeen, in contrast, has returned 195%, according to Trustnet. “Jason and his team have proved themselves as talented as their better-known rivals,” says Anna Bowes at AWD Chase de Vere in The Sunday Times.
Having started out as an investment analyst with Dundee-based Alliance Trust, the Strathclyde economics graduate first honed his knowledge of the Asian markets after a two-year stint in Indonesia in the late 1990s. He joined Martin Currie in 1998, and has been analysing the Asian market ever since.
McCay and his team travel to over 500 companies in Asia each year, from which they maintain a portfolio of 40-50 stocks, picked on criteria ranging from how dynamic businesses are, to the effect of changes in management.
Speaking to Ticker magazine late last year, he explained his research process by looking at a recent stock pick: Hana Tour, one of the largest travel companies in Korea, in a market that’s grown by 20% a year over the past five. “The company has been consolidating its market position and exploiting the internet. The company has shown consistent growth in the last four years,” he says. He also holds other companies plugged into the Asian growth story, including China Mobile.
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Martin Currie Asia Pacific’s top ten holdings
Name of holding, % of assets
China Mobile, 5.70
BHP Billiton, 5.00
Taiwan Semiconductor, 3.70
Woolworths, 3.00
WorleyParsons, 2.90
CSL, 2.70
Rio Tinto, 2.70
China Merchants Bank, 2.70
Newcrest Mining, 2.60
Sino Land, 2.40