M&G Asian
M&G Asian is a high-conviction fund that takes an active approach to investing across the region. The team applies fundamental and qualitative analysis to assess and uncover investment ideas, focusing on business quality, industry trends, valuation and risk of ownership. The final portfolio typically holds around 50-80 names.
Quick Access
Our Opinion
David Perrett and his team bring decades of experience to investing in Asian equities, combining deep research with a disciplined, risk-aware approach. This experience has been backed up by very impressive long-term performance. Their hands-on approach and willingness to take meaningful differentiated positions sets them apart from their peers. For investors looking for exposure to the Asian market, this fund should be a strong contender.
Fund Managers
David Perrett, Fund manager
David Perrett is lead manager on this strategy. He joined M&G as co-head of Asian investment, bringing almost three decades of investment experience. Before M&G, he co-founded the boutique investment firm Port Meadow Capital Management with Carl Vine in 2014. Prior to this, he was a managing director and senior portfolio manager at UBS, focusing on investments across the Asia Pacific region, while based in Hong Kong. He also served as chief investment officer, Life and Institutional, at Prudential Asset Management (Hong Kong), having started his career with Prudential in London in 1991. David holds a Bachelor of Science in Economics from the London School of Economics and a Master of Science from the University of London.
Carl Vine, Deputy manager
Deputy manager Carl Vine joined M&G in 2019 as co-head of the Asia Pacific equity team and has over 25 years of investment experience in Japan. He is responsible for running a number of Japanese equity portfolios at the asset manager. Carl has over 20 years of investment experience, having begun his career with Prudential in London, and then relocating to Tokyo to open the Japan office. He went on to work in Hong Kong for SAC Capital Advisors and UBS. Carl and David co-founded boutique investment firm Port Meadow Capital in 2014, both subsequently joining M&G in 2019 as co-heads of Asia Pacific Equities. The two managers have worked closely together for many years and are supported at M&G by a team of eight analysts and other investment specialists. Analysis is run regionally within this team.
Risk
Risk management is integral to the process. Multiple indicators are monitored including tracking error, portfolio concentration, sector and factor exposures, liquidity, and correlations. The aim is to ensure that the portfolio’s risk budget is allocated to intentional and differentiated investment ideas. Given the bottom-up approach, stock-specific risk constitutes the majority of the fund’s overall risk.
Loss management is another essential part of the investment philosophy. While no formal stop-loss rules are applied, continuous evaluation ensures that mistakes are identified early, and positions are exited when necessary. Portfolio monitoring focuses on three key return drivers: hit ratio (winning vs. losing trades), skew ratio (size of gains vs. losses), and sizing ratio (allocation to winners vs. losers).
The fund manager holds ultimate responsibility for the risk management of the fund, ensuring it aligns with its objectives. Investment risk is monitored both in absolute terms and relative to the MSCI AC Asia ex Japan Index. Close collaboration with M&G’s equity risk team enables a thorough assessment of risks.
Company Description
Founded in 1931, M&G Investments employs more than 2,000 people worldwide, including 350 investment specialists. The company was formerly owned by Prudential plc but de-merged in 2019 to become listed on the London Stock Exchange. It focuses primarily on fixed interest and equities but also invests in multi-asset and real estate. Many of its fund managers have been with the company for more than 20 years. Managers are given the freedom to implement their own style on funds.
Investment process
The investment team cover a universe of around 500 stocks with a focus on understanding business fundamentals, industry dynamics, and potential risks of ownership. The goal is to anticipate how revenues, earnings, and corporate strategies react to different scenarios, enabling informed investment decisions when price-value gaps arise. Their approach is based on the principle that there are four key elements of the ‘investment problem’: independence, conviction, fallibility and uncertainty.
Qualitative research aims to determine if a company is a "good" or "bad" business by assessing its operations, competition, regulations, and capital needs. Meanwhile, quantitative analysis is primarily applied to portfolio risk management to track factor exposures, sector concentrations and diversification.
The fund consists of between 50-80 holdings and is benchmarked against the MSCI AC Asia Pacific ex Japan Index. The fund takes a bottom-up approach, which can lead to sector and country biases, but large sector bets are only made with strong conviction.
Risk
Risk management is integral to the process. Multiple indicators are monitored including tracking error, portfolio concentration, sector and factor exposures, liquidity, and correlations. The aim is to ensure that the portfolio’s risk budget is allocated to intentional and differentiated investment ideas. Given the bottom-up approach, stock-specific risk constitutes the majority of the fund’s overall risk.
Loss management is another essential part of the investment philosophy. While no formal stop-loss rules are applied, continuous evaluation ensures that mistakes are identified early, and positions are exited when necessary. Portfolio monitoring focuses on three key return drivers: hit ratio (winning vs. losing trades), skew ratio (size of gains vs. losses), and sizing ratio (allocation to winners vs. losers).
The fund manager holds ultimate responsibility for the risk management of the fund, ensuring it aligns with its objectives. Investment risk is monitored both in absolute terms and relative to the MSCI AC Asia ex Japan Index. Close collaboration with M&G’s equity risk team enables a thorough assessment of risks.
ESG
ESG - Integrated
M&G believes that ESG factors significantly impact long-term investment outcomes and aims to achieve the best risk-adjusted returns for clients by integrating ESG criteria into investment decisions. This approach is applied across all asset classes and sectors, considering ESG factors as essential components of the investment process. The investment team engage in regular dialogues with company executives to ensure alignment with long-term shareholder interests. M&G’s stewardship & sustainability team assists fund managers with ESG issues; coordinates stewardship and responsible investment activities; engages with companies on governance and sustainability matters; manages voting responsibilities at shareholder meetings; and maintains constructive dialogues with company management to uphold long-term shareholder responsibilities.
Related Insights
High risk, high reward: the case for (and against) China
The companies benefiting from your Father’s Day gift-giving
Winter 2025: the funds gaining and losing their Elite Ratings
The information, data, analyses, and opinions contained herein (1) include the proprietary information of FundCalibre, (2) may not be copied or redistributed without prior permission, (3) do not constitute investment advice offered by FundCalibre, (4) are provided solely for informational purposes and therefore are not an offer to buy or sell a fund, and (5) are not warranted to be correct, complete, or accurate. FundCalibre shall not be responsible for any trading decisions, damages, or other losses resulting from, or related to, this information, data, analyses, or opinions or their use. The Elite Fund rating is subjective in nature and reflects FundCalibre’s current expectations of future events/behaviour as they relate to a particular fund. Because such events/behaviour may turn out to be different than expected, FundCalibre does not guarantee that a fund will perform in line with its FundCalibre benchmark. Likewise, the Elite Fund rating should not be seen as any sort of guarantee or assessment of the creditworthiness of a fund nor of its underlying securities and should not be used as the sole basis for making any investment decision. FundCalibre disclaims any responsibility for trading decisions, damages or other losses resulting from any use of the Elite Fund rating. All performance data, as well as fund size, OCF, AMC, annual income (historic), share price discount or premium, is sourced directly from FE Analytics, and will change periodically.