Meet The Manager - Andrew Beal

Andrew joined Henderson in summer 2005, and has managed Henderson TR Pacific since then. Previously, he was Lead Portfolio Manager, Emerging Markets and Pacific Rim for Nicholas Applegate Capital Management where his PIMCO-NACM Asia Pacific fund was the recipient of the 2005 Lipper award for consistency of risk-adjusted returns over 3 years.

Andrew has specialised in the Asia Pacific region since 1994 and describes himself as a stock picker with a growth bias. He targets companies with accelerating earnings trading at discounts to their long-term franchise.

Fund Manager's Commentary - December 2011 

Asian markets were broadly flat in December with gradually improving economic data from the US offset by continuing problems in the eurozone. Within Asia, investors were attempting to balance the prospect of lower inflation and further policy easing against the negative impact of slower economic growth. India was the standout underperformer of the month as data indicated a sharp drop off in economic activity as well as sticky inflation and high interest rates. Malaysia, the Philippines and Indonesia were the best performing markets as they continued to benefit from strong domestic growth, relatively modest inflation and firm currencies.

Fund performance was behind the benchmark index largely on stock selection, with negative contributions from Chinese railway rolling stock company Zhuzhou CSR on disappointing 2012 government spending plans, as well as Hong-Kong-listed Prada, which was hurt by fears about tighter controls over Chinese consumers spending money overseas. The main positive contributions came from Taiwanese smartphone plays HTC and Foxconn, mainly in anticipation of significant growth in China over the next 12 months.

ICICI Bank in India was sold as it became clear that non-performing loans across the Indian banking sector were rising. The proceeds were spent in topping-up existing positions in Korean smartphone gaming company Gamevil, as well as Chinese property.

The first few months of 2012 are likely to remain volatile as economic uncertainty remains very high. As the extent of further problems in Europe becomes clear and policymakers in Asia react to slower growth in the region, we expect that markets should move higher over the remainder of the year.

Andrew Beal, Asian Macroeconomic update - 4 May 2011

Andrew Beal, Director of Pan Asian Equities,  gives his general Asian macroeconomic update.