News from our advisers
Our principal specialist Asian advisers wrote at the end of June:
We have added a fifth leg to our Asia Fund stool in the guise of the Central Asia Fund, just launched, which focuses primarily on the “Stans”, those countries with unpronounceable names that sit between China, Russia and eastern Europe. For now, Kazakhstan is the only one with a stock market of any real depth. We have made three trips this year to the region and are starting to unearth some interesting and, thus far, undiscovered investment opportunities. This fund will account for less than 2% of the Asia Fund as we gradually delve more deeply into what is a fascinating region. It will not be open, at this stage, to third party investors.
This adviser’s USD performance numbers since their fund’s inception in 1996 are:
GTI comment: we have spent so much time preaching the virtues of our “Developing China” theme adviser that we won’t repeat ourselves. But we are delighted they are taking on the GLOBAL THEMES “Stans”. I tried to do some research on the Stans in 1996 and found that there were only two people in London who really knew much about them a deposed drunken politician and a missionary. We do not doubt that our adviser will unearth some more interesting opportunities today.
