Witan Asia Pacific fund romps home past benchmark

In the six-month period the trust's share price returned 27.6 per cent, with a net asset value total return of 21.7 per cent. This compared with a benchmark return of 18.8 per cent for the same period, according to the multi-manager's chairman.

Ms Nott said Witan's two underlying managers, Aberdeen Asset Managers and Nomura Asset Management, were appointed in view of their complementary investment approach.

She said while Aberdeen benefited from a bias towards better performing markets and away from Japan, Nomura's performance was boosted by positive stock selection in Japan.

In the six months in review, Aberdeen's portfolio returned 27 per cent, with Nomura returning 17.7 per cent.

Ms Nott said: "In the first half of the year, markets globally moved towards greater stability. The strong stimulus packages implemented both in the west and in China have ensured increased liquidity that has boosted Asian equity markets in particular.

"However, the degree of this rally was in no means uniform across the region with Indonesia returning some 83.9 per cent compared with returns in Japan of 21.7 per cent in the same period."

Ms Nott said she believed this demonstrates succinctly the benefits of Witan Pacific's portfolio, which offers diversification not only geographically but also by investment manager through its multi-manager structure.

She said: "Short-term volatility aside, Asia Pacific should be an increasingly important part of an investment portfolio."

Alex Pegley, director of Hampshire-based IFA Calculis, said Japanese investment needed to start rewarding investors, but felt Asia was increasingly becoming a good news story.

He said he was not surprised the trust had performed well with Nomura's intimate knowledge of the region.

Mr Pegley said: "It is about time Japan made some money for investors. For far too long UK investors have been too focused on the UK as the place to invest money, the world is bigger than that.

"I am quite a strong believer in the Asian market. Recently China has been the place to invest in Asia and has been promoted as such but I think the wider part of the region has great potential, not just Japan but also what was called the Asia Tiger ecomonies, the likes of South Korea and Thailand.

"They have got the emerging middle classes and they are developing into more mature economies."