16th Dec 2019 12:01
(Alliance News) - Schroder AsiaPacific Fund PLC on Monday reported an underperformance against its benchmark for its recently ended financial year, due to a slightly negative performance in markets.
For the year to the end of September, the investment firm reported a net asset value total return of 1.8%, compared to the MSCI All Countries Asia excluding Japan index, which returned 2.2%.
As at September 30, the Schroder AsiaPacific's net asset value per share stood at 490.94 pence, down 0.3% from 492.35p the same date the year before.
The fund's share price at the end of September was 435.00 pence, reflecting an 11% discount to net asset value.
Shares in Schroder AsiaPacific were up 0.1% on the day Monday at 454.50 pence, having improved since the year-end.
Portfolio-wise, Schroder AsiaPacific's performance was affected by its underweight exposure in India and Indonesia which both outperformed, despite strong stock selection in Taiwan, Korea, and added value from Australia and the Netherlands.
Meanwhile, market conditions were more negative, as economic expectations outside the US softened, while global trade stagnated and politics weighed on sentiment, mainly the Sino-US trade disagreements.
Schroders AsiaPacific declared a final dividend of 9.70 pence, up 2.1% from 9.50p the year before.
"This year, politics in the region have been highly visible globally. The China/US trade negotiations and political unrest in Hong Kong - the common theme being dissatisfaction with China - together with the worsening relations between Korea and Japan, have all weighed against stock performance. Economic conditions were more challenging than expected but, on the positive side, the weakness in sterling has worked to the company's performance advantage," said Chair Nicolas Smith.
By Dayo Laniyan; [email protected]
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