Important Note Click to maximise
Important Note I have read and agree, click to minimise

This is a financial promotion for The First Sentier Asia Pacific ex-Japan Strategy. This information is for professional clients only in the EEA and elsewhere where lawful. Investing involves certain risks including:

  • The value of investments and any income from them may go down as well as up and are not guaranteed. Investors may get back significantly less than the original amount invested.
  • Currency risk: the Fund invests in assets which are denominated in other currencies; changes in exchange rates will affect the value of the Fund and could create losses. Currency control decisions made by governments could affect the value of the Fund's investments and could cause the Fund to defer or suspend redemptions of its shares. 
  • Single country / specific region risk: investing in a single country or specific region may be riskier than investing in a number of different countries or regions. Investing in a larger number of countries or regions helps spread risk. 
  • Charges to capital risk: The fees and expenses may be charged against the capital property. Deducting expenses from capital reduces the potential for capital growth.
  • Emerging market risk: Emerging markets tend to be more sensitive to economic and political conditions than developed markets. Other factors include greater liquidity risk, restrictions on investment or transfer of assets, failed/delayed settlement and difficulties valuing securities. .
  • Smaller companies risk: Investments in smaller companies may be riskier and more difficult to buy and sell than investments in larger companies.

For details of the firms issuing this information and any funds referred to, please see Terms and Conditions and Important Information.  

For a full description of the terms of investment and the risks please see the Prospectus and Key Investor Information Document for each Fund. 

If you are in any doubt as to the suitability of our funds for your investment needs, please seek investment advice.

Asia Pacific

Participate in Asia’s growth with a different perspective. 

With the rise of a newly emerging middle-class and improving corporate governance, Asia Pacific presents attractive investment opportunity set for investors.

Dominant consumer franchises

With favourable demographics and populations that are still growing – particularly in Southeast Asia and India – we believe dominant consumer franchises can offer good growth potential over the long term.

Rise in healthcare spending

Many countries are under-invested in healthcare compared to the global average. As these economies become richer, we expect healthcare and health-related spending to rise.

High quality financials

We believe banks and high quality financials should benefit from similar drivers as consumer businesses: demographics, rising incomes and urbanisation.

A more connected and automated world

As the world embraces a digital future, we believe Asian technology firms should benefit from strong end demand and a growing market. At the same time, lower-cost robots allows manufacturers to automate their processes.
 

About the strategy

Home to 60% of the world’s population, Asia Pacific is well positioned to benefit from opportunities driven by the rise of digital innovation and favourable demographics.

Richard Jones, Director, explains the investment philosophy behind the Asia Pacific investment strategy. 

About the stratgy - Asia Pacific

Our investment philosophy

FSSA Investment Managers’ investment approach is centred on identifying quality companies, buying them at a sensible price and holding for the long term. 

We look for founders and management teams that act with integrity and risk awareness; and dominant franchises that have the ability to deliver sustainable and predictable returns over the long term.

We are research-driven, bottom-up investors1, carrying out detailed fundamental analysisto identify high quality companies to invest in for the long term. We travel extensively to meet with companies to assess the quality of management and their track record of executing long-term strategies; and supplement this with a qualitative and quantitative analysis of the company’s ability to compound growth in excess of the cost of capital.

1. Bottom-up investing is an investment approach that focuses on the analysis of individual stocks and de-emphasizes the significance of macroeconomic cycles.
2. Fundamental analysis is a method of measuring a security's intrinsic value by examining related economic and financial factors.

Our approach to sustainability

Environmental, social and governance (ESG) analysis is fully integrated into our investment process. 

Our approach to responsible investing has been shaped by an emphasis on stewardship and the belief that quality managers and good governance should ensure that environmental and social concerns are rightfully addressed.

To us, sustainability is not just a label, but a set of values by which we operate. 

As a firm, we have been signatories to the Principles of Responsible Investment (PRI) since 2007 (we view it as a minimum standard) and are constantly striving to better understand how ESG and sustainability issues impact long-term investment performance.

Case study: Stewardship

FSSA Investment Managers has invested in DBS Bank since 2010, engaging regularly with DBS management during that time. This approach allows us to build trusted, long-term relationships with the companies we allocate our clients' capital to.

DBS asked FSSA Investment Managers to review and suggest improvements to their Sustainability Report. In our feedback, we reinforced the importance of good quality reporting and improvements including a report that articulated the Bank's sustainability strategy; explanation of the Bank's initiatives and how they align with the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals; and improved disclosures on financing projects which may, on the surface, seem to fall short of DBS' commitment to the Sustainable Development Goals.

We believe that this would add to the DBS' credibility on sustainability issues; and made clear that any disclosures they made would be used for internal research purposes, to help us assess the quality of the DBS franchise and the risks associated with various environmental, social and governance challenges.

 

Disclaimer: Reference to specific securities (if any) is included for the purpose of illustration only and should not be construed as a recommendation to buy or sell the same. All securities mentioned herein may or may not form part of the holdings of FSSA Investment Managers' portfolios at a certain point in time, and the holdings may change over time.

Investment insights

Markets will always do their best to push us to act in a short-term and emotional manner, particularly at times when events become somewhat extreme. These days all of us, market participants or not, seem almost entirely focused on uncertainty rather than promise. This is why having a strong philosophy and process is crucial.
  • Article
  • 10 mins
In our last update, we touched on the idea of high-quality companies hiding in small market capitalisations in ASEAN . This, in our view, is due to years of declining foreign-investor interest in the region. These companies are usually not covered in great detail or indeed at all by sell-side research analysts.
  • Article
  • 9 mins

Meet the managers

Martin Lau

Managing Partner

Richard Jones

Director

Rizi Mohanty

Portfolio Manager

For more information, please contact us