The potential for growth in Asia has long been recognised, but income has been hard to come by, says Hargreaves Lansdown’s Mark Dampier. However, as the market has developed, there has been a “growing dividend culture”, and the region has become a “prolific hunting ground for income-seekers”.
One fund which has tapped into this, and offers a combination of “exciting growth potential” and “attractive dividends”, is the Newton Asian Income fund. It has many fans.
The £2.3bn fund is up 87% over three years, putting it in the top decile in the IMA Asia Pacific ex-Japan sector, and is one of the global “front-runners” for growth over three years, according to ThisisMoney.com.
Manager Jason Pidcock’s “thematic approach” has produced a historic yield in excess of 5%, points out James Calder on Fundweb.co.uk. What’s more, the fund has delivered “the perfect blend of top-of-the-sector, three-year returns, with bottom-of-the-sector three-year volatility”, according to River Capital.
Pidcock attempts to generate income and long-term capital growth predominantly through investment in equities listed in the Asia Pacific ex-Japan region. But, compared to peers, the portfolio “has a bias towards the more developed [Asian] economies”, says Bestinvest.co.uk, with Australia (26%), Hong Kong (20%), Singapore (12%) and Taiwan (12%) the top four regions. The fund is significantly underweight in China and South Korea.
Overall, the fund’s relatively conservative approach has served it well in the past and Bestinvest expects “the good performance of this fund to continue”.
Contact: 020-7163 2802.
Newton Asian Income fund’s top holdings
| Name of holding | % of assets |
|---|---|
| Hutchison Port Holding Trust NPV | 4.3 |
| Taiwan Semiconductor Manu | 4.2 |
| Link Real Estate Investment Trust Units | 3.7 |
| Transurban Group | 3.6 |
| Advanced Info Service Public Co | 3.5 |
| Telstra Corporation | 3.5 |
| Australia & New Zealand Bank Group | 3.4 |
| HTC Corp | 3.4 |
| China Mobile Ltd | 3.3 |
| Taiwan Mobile Co | 3.0 |