Stewart Investors Asia Pacific Leaders Sustainability

Stewart Investors Asia Pacific Leaders Sustainability invests in the shares of large and medium-sized companies that are either based in, or have significant operations in the Asia Pacific region including Australia and New Zealand, but excluding Japan. Specific consideration is given to companies that are positioned to benefit from, and contribute to, the sustainable development of the countries in which they operate.

Previously Stewart Investors Asia Pacific Leaders.

Our opinion

Stewart Investors has a strong team style and an excellent boutique culture. Stewart Investors Asia Pacific Leaders Sustainability fund's well-defined process has consistently been able to beat the market over a very long period. David has shown considerable skill during his time as co-manager and we think it is one of the core fund options in its sector.

Fund manager

Stewart Investors has a strong team-based process. David Gait, who began co-managing the fund in July 2015, is extremely experienced, having been part of the Stewart team since 1997. He has managed the similar Elite Rated Asia Pacific Sustainability fund since inception in 2005 and generates investment ideas across all sectors in emerging and developed markets.

Sashi Reddy has co-managed the fund since January 2016, having joined the Asia Pacific team in July 2008. Sashi achieved an MBA from the Toronto-based Schulich School of Business, and previously worked with Credit Suisse First Boston.

In theory the financial sector should support the real economy's long-term growth. In practice, it's become so detached from the real world that it is more akin to a fantasy land inhabited by a growing number of peculiar characters undertaking nonsensical tasks. Lewis Carroll’s Alice would be very much at home.

David GaitFund manager

Investment process

The team believes in backing its best ideas with a concentrated approach so the portfolio usually has less than 50 holdings and around 40% of its value is in its top 10 holdings. The fund invests in quality sustainable companies over a long period. It has a strong valuation discipline and typically gets most of its outperformance in a falling market. David is responsible for ensuring the portfolio is well diversified. There are formal sector limits for geography and sectors; the fund’s exposure to any of Australia, China (via Hong Kong), Hong Kong, India, Singapore, South Korea or Taiwan must not exceed 50%. The managers are not required to own any sector or country if there are no good investment opportunities.

ESG

ESG - Explicit
Stewart Investors aims to invest in high-quality companies that contribute to and benefit from the sustainable development of the countries in which it operates. Its managers have been running sustainability investment strategies since 2005 and have a strong process. They believe that sustainable development is a key driver of investment performance and consider sustainability as integral to the investment process, using it as their starting point when analysing a company.

As part of their bottom-up investment process, managers do not invest in companies with material exposure to harmful products and services, or which fail to discharge their environmental stewardship and human rights responsibilities. For example, they will not invest in companies involved in fossil fuels, nuclear energy, alcohol production, tobacco production, gambling, pornography, armaments manufacturing and any with poor records in human rights standards.

The portfolios are reviewed by an external ESG research provider who reports on any company involved in harmful industries or which does not meet the principles which sit at the heart of the investment philosophy. The team will engage with management to resolve any issues, or divest if no change is forthcoming.

Risk

Stewart Investors Asia Pacific Leaders Sustainability fund is heavily invested in the more liquid large and medium-sized companies. Because these companies tend to be higher quality in nature, it helps mitigate risk. The fund is managed with a 'stewardship' mindset. As a result, historically it has had much lower volatility than other Asian equity funds. Investors should also be aware of the currency risk.

See more

Read more about this fund

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.