Fidelity Asian beats comparative index, boosted by China exposure

Fidelity Asian Values PLC on Tuesday said it outperformed its comparative index in the first-half of its 2025 financial year, helped by overweight positioning in China.

The Asia-focused investor said its net asset value total return in the six months to the end of January was 3.2%, while the comparative MSCI All Countries Asia ex Japan Small Cap Index fell 2.1%.

NAV per share increased 0.6% to 554.89 pence on January 31 from 551.66 pence at the end of July 2024.

Fidelity Asian Values said overweight positioning in China and underweight positioning in India contributed positive to performance during the period.

‘We have retained our contrarian positions in undervalued Chinese businesses and stayed away from expensive Indian small-caps,’ the company said.

No interim dividend was declared for the period, unchanged from the prior year.

The portfolio managers said there are opportunities to investors in China due to ‘innovation and technological excellence’.

‘[China] also maintains its position as a highly competitive manufacturing hub for the world, offering technology and cost leadership. Indonesia is another country where we continue to find investment opportunities at the right price, particularly in well-run financials and we have selected long-term winners in the consumer staples space,’ said Portfolio Managers Nitin Bajaj and Ajinkya Dhavale.

‘Meanwhile, we continue to stay away from sectors and countries that most investors find fashionable, such as AI-driven technology hardware; Taiwan and Korea; as well as expensive small caps in India. This strategy has served us well in the past and we believe it will continue to reward us well in the coming three to five years.’

Shares in Fidelity Asian Values were largely flat at 500.22 pence in London on Tuesday afternoon.

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