abrdn Asia Pacific Equity Class I - Income (GBP)

Since August 1996 when Flavia Cheong started managing this fund, it’s outperformed the IA Asia Pacific sector average return. It has also outperformed the regional benchmark.

More recently though, the fund’s performance has struggled. Over the past decade, it’s failed to outperform its benchmark and the IA sector average. Given their focus on ‘quality’ companies, we would typically have expected the fund to hold up better when markets fall, but the fund hasn’t met these expectations in recent years.

The team's investment philosophy is based on 'long-term quality'. They believe most investors underestimate the sustainability of returns that many high-quality companies can make. They aim to find companies which can generate long-term growth, that have been overlooked by others, and hold onto them for many years.

Companies in good financial health, run by robust and trustworthy management teams are favoured by the team. They often look for a change that could help boost profits in future, such as a new product or change in the use of technology. They sometimes invest in out-of-favour companies that can be bought at a more attractive share price.

Meeting company management is important to the team. They can typically do this regularly as team members are based throughout Asia. They also like to engage with companies on environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues that could lead to better outcomes for both investors and society over the long run.