Fidelity Asia Pacific Opportunities

Manager Anthony Srom adopts a high-conviction approach to investing in this Asian equity fund. He uses the breadth of resource within Fidelity to hone his best ideas, comparing what the market says about the share price of a company against his own interpretation of its valuation. Although he runs a concentrated portfolio, Anthony aims to lower potential volatility by making sure the Fidelity Asia Pacific Opportunities fund is well diversified.

Our opinion

Anthony’s high-conviction and disciplined approach helps this fund to stand out from its peers. He is a true active manager, who focuses on finding the best companies rather than simply focusing on an industry or theme. His track record of minimising volatility is also impressive.

Fund manager

Singapore-based Anthony Srom has over two decades of experience investing in Asia. He joined Fidelity in 2006 as an investment analyst and became a portfolio manager on the Fidelity Thailand fund two years later. He took on the Fidelity Asia Pacific Opportunities fund in September 2014. Prior to Fidelity, he worked as a transport analyst at ABN Amro, Goldman Sachs and Deutsche Bank in Australia. Anthony holds a degree in commerce from Bond University in Australia.

Anthony Srom Picture (1)

I believe backing my best ideas though a concentrated portfolio of 25-35 stocks provides the greatest opportunity to outperform and deliver attractive returns for investors.

Anthony SromFund manager

Investment process

Anthony approaches stock selection with a contrarian mindset, focusing on what a share price doesn't say about a company, and whether there is value to be unlocked. Idea generation comes from Fidelity's global research network, brokers and the team’s screening process.

He looks first at a company’s fundamentals, including its financial strength, accounting quality, management team and the structure of the industry it operates in. He then examines investor sentiment and what the valuation implies. During this process, Anthony aims to work out whether the company’s earnings could change relative to the market’s view and whether the business can increase its return on capital. The Fidelity Asia Pacific Opportunities fund holds between 25 and 35 companies, with a one-in one-out policy when at the maximum 35 names.

ESG

ESG - Integrated  

ESG integration is included at the stock analysis level by fund manager Anthony Srom. As well as studying financial results, with the help of in-house analysts he carries out additional qualitative analysis of potential investments. He does not use any ESG screening tools. Anthony will try to discern the different ESG risk factors when assessing a company. Any potential ESG concerns are then assessed and a view is taken as to whether these factors are priced into the valuation of the share price. This will impact the discount rate used when determining a valuation. There is always a focus on risk versus reward for an investment. Though an investment proposition may show ‘upside’, Anthony may not act, specifically if the overall risk level is unjustifiable. Management engagement is also an important part of the investment process.

Risk

Despite the concentrated nature of the fund, Anthony prides himself on its lower than average volatility. This is achieved by focusing on a stock’s correlation relative to other positions as he only wants to expose the fund to a risk once. He also considers potential volatility and the ease with which shares can be bought and sold (liquidity). He then manages the position size to accommodate all of these factors. Anthony can be contrarian which may lead to buying stocks too early. Constraints include sectors and country exposures limited at +/-20% of the benchmark. Meanwhile, if a stock moves by 30% or more, it is monitored closely.

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