Elite-rated by funds analyst, Morningstar, the First State Global Emerging Market Fund is a clear leader in its sector, delivering top-quartile performance since its launch back in 1992.
While emerging market veteran, Angus Tulloch has fully relinquished his role as lead manger, handing over the reigns to co-manager Jonathan Asante, the fund has continued to post strong returns - continually outpacing its benchmark, the MSCI Emerging Market Index.
Mr Asante shares the same investment philosophy to Mr Tulloch and prefers stocks with quality management, strong franchise and sustainable earnings growth. He is joined at the helm by Glen Finegan, who has been with First State since 2001, and boasts close to a decade's experience in emerging markets.
It is worth noting that First State raised its annual management charge by 25 basis point to 1.75 per cent earlier this year. "As the fund is soft-closed, it's a clear attempt to eke out more revenue from existing investors. The higher cost bites into their future returns and this gains significance when compounded over the long term," criticises Morningstar.
The fund's performance has held up well over recent months, positively impacted by AngloGold Ashanti, which rose with the gold price. According to the managers, the portfolio is conservatively positioned and maintains a large holding in the gold mining company as a hedge against further currency debasement.
"Our funds have had positions in gold since the tech bubble, when we discovered printing money was becoming more popular," comments Mr Asante.
Interestingly, in their latest fund fact sheet, the managers have expressed concern over the rapid growth of exchange-traded funds (ETFs), which has continued to build momentum with increasingly exotic, complicated and opaque funds being launched.
FIRST STATE GLOBAL EMERGING MARKETS FUND A ACC (SIEMA) | |||
---|---|---|---|
PRICE | 428.73p | SHARPE RATIO | 0.24 |
SIZE OF FUND | £623m | 1-YR PERFORMANCE | 35.74% |
No OF HOLDINGS | 104 | 3-YR PERFORMANCE | 47.00% |
SET UP DATE | 30 December 1992 | 5-YR PERFORMANCE | 156.22% |
MANAGER START DATE | J. Asante 11/02/2008; G. Finegan 01/02/2009 | TOTAL EXPENSE RATIO | 1.61%* |
BETA | 0.65 | YIELD | 0.45* |
VOLATILITY | 2.23 | MINIMUM INVESTMENT | £1,000 initial, £50 thereafter |
TRACKING ERROR | 1.84 | MORE DETAILS | www.firststate.co.uk |
Source: Investors Chronicle, First State, *Morningstar
Performance figures as at 28 May 2010
Top 10 holdings (as at 30 April 2010)
Holding | Percentage |
---|---|
Taiwan Semiconductor | 5.5 |
Anglogold Ashanti | 5.3 |
Hong Kong & China Gas | 5.0 |
LG Corp | 2.6 |
Delta Electronics | 2.5 |
Cocal-Cola Hellenic Bottling | 2.4 |
Samsung Fire & Marine | 2.3 |
Check Point Software | 2.2 |
Uni President Enterprises | 2.2 |
President Chain Store | 2.0 |
Geographic Breakdown
Country | Percentage |
---|---|
Emerging Asia | 56.2 |
EMEA | 27.7 |
Latin America | 11.7 |
Other | 0.8 |
Cash | 3.6 |