Asia Ex Japan Equity Strategy

Asia Ex Japan Equity Strategy

Asia Ex Japan Equity Strategy

 
 
Summary

The Asia Ex Japan Equity Strategy is a diversified, core portfolio seeking to identify growing Asia ex Japan countries and the quality companies that could potentially benefit. In our integrated process, we translate macrothematic research and fundamental bottom-up analysis into a growth oriented portfolio. We take a thematic approach to help identify longer term trends not fully appreciated by the market and construct a diversified portfolio of 50 to 75 stocks we believe are positioned to benefit from the future drivers of growth in Asian emerging markets.

 
 
Investment Approach
Philosophy

The Asia Equity team believes that there are inefficiencies in Asian markets that we can systematically take advantage of through a disciplined investment process. We capture investment opportunities and add value by integrating top-down sector/thematic analysis and bottom-up stock selection and by utilizing a rigorous and fundamental research approach.

The Team believes this integrated process offers the most effective approach given the diverse economic profiles of Asian countries.

Our investment philosophy emphasizes understanding market drivers and uses internal macro/thematic selection tools to identify fundamentals and catalysts that we believe will drive stock outperformance.

The Team focuses on stocks that are mis-priced relative to its fundamental value and look for countries, sectors and themes that are attractive when evaluated on a combination of valuation, growth outlook and return expectations.  We seek to identify medium to long-term trends that are not recognized by the market.

The fundamental philosophy of finding quality growth companies incorporating both top-down and bottom-up approach has not changed for our Strategy. ESG is formally integrated as part of our investment process.

 
Differentiators
Asian Emerging Markets Experience

Morgan Stanley Investment Management is a pioneer in emerging Asian markets investing and continues to demonstrate expertise and commitment through all market cycles. We began analyzing the emerging Asian markets in 1984 and investing in the asset class in 1986, originally in Emerging Asia. With more than 30 years of experience in managing Asian EM portfolios, we have gained deep knowledge of how governments, industries and companies operate. We believe that our time-tested investment philosophy and consistent investment process can deliver outperformance.

Differentiated Process

Our research shows that macro factors are an important driver of returns and risks in emerging markets, and we believe the most effective way to invest in Asia ex Japan is through an integrated top-down and bottom-up approach.  Our investors and dedicated macroeconomic research team conduct country, thematic and sector analysis to identify markets where the macro environment is positive and/or improving. We combine this with our disciplined fundamental, bottom-up process to select the most attractive investable companies.

Core Approach

We seek to construct a portfolio of 50-75 high conviction companies, actively positioned and diversified across countries and stocks. We identify stocks with a quality growth bias where companies have a solid balance sheet, strong competitive advantage, attractive and sustainable earnings growth and return on invested capital, and management that is aligned with shareholders. Our investment horizon is two to three years, and we expect tracking error for the strategy to be between 4-6%, relative to the MSCI All Country Asia ex Japan Net Index.1

 

1 The targets and exposures presented are typical ranges. There is no assurance that these targets will be attained.

 
 
 
 
Investment Process
asia-ex-japan-equity-investment-process
 
 
Portfolio Managers  
Amay Hattangadi
Managing Director
29 years industry experience
Rose Kim
Executive Director
14 years industry experience
Samson Hung
Vice President
20 years industry experience
 

Team members may be subject to change at any time without notice.

Effective 1 April 2025, Rose Kim and Samson Hung became portfolio managers for the Strategy.

 
 
 
 
 

RISK CONSIDERATIONS  

Diversification does not protect you against a loss in a particular market; however it allows you to spread that risk across various asset classes. There is no assurance that a portfolio will achieve its investment objective. Portfolios are subject to market risk, which is the possibility that the market values of securities owned by the portfolio will decline. Market values can change daily due to economic and other events (e.g. natural disasters, health crises, terrorism, conflicts and social unrest) that affect markets, countries, companies or governments. It is difficult to predict the timing, duration, and potential adverse effects (e.g. portfolio liquidity) of events. Accordingly, you can lose money investing in this strategy. Please be aware that this strategy may be subject to certain additional risks. In general, equities securities’ values also fluctuate in response to activities specific to a company. Investments in foreign markets entail special risks such as currency, political, economic, market and liquidity risks. The risks of investing in emerging market countries are greater than the risks generally associated with investments in foreign developed countries. Derivative instruments can be illiquid, may disproportionately increase losses and may have a potentially large negative impact on the portfolio’s performance. Illiquid securitiesmay be more difficult to sell and value than publicly traded securities (liquidity risk). ESG Strategies that incorporate impact investing and/or Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) factors could result in relative investment performance deviating from other strategies or broad market benchmarks, depending on whether such sectors or investments are in or out of favor in the market. As a result, there is no assurance ESG strategies could result in more favorable investment performance.

This communication is only intended for and will be only distributed to persons resident in jurisdictions where such distribution or availability would not be contrary to local laws or regulations.

There is no guarantee that any investment strategy will work under all market conditions, and each investor should evaluate their ability to invest for the long-term, especially during periods of downturn in the market. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

A separately managed account may not be appropriate for all investors. Separate accounts managed according to the Strategy include a number of securities and will not necessarily track the performance of any index. Please consider the investment objectives, risks and fees of the Strategy carefully before investing. A minimum asset level is required. For important information about the investment manager, please refer to Form ADV Part 2.

Any views and opinions provided are those of the portfolio management team and are subject to change at any time due to market or economic conditions and may not necessarily come to pass. Furthermore, the views will not be updated or otherwise revised to reflect information that subsequently becomes available or circumstances existing, or changes occurring. The views expressed do not reflect the opinions of all portfolio managers at Morgan Stanley Investment Management (MSIM) or the views of the firm as a whole, and may not be reflected in all the strategies and products that the Firm offers.

All information provided has been prepared solely for information purposes and does not constitute an offer or a recommendation to buy or sell any particular security or to adopt any specific investment strategy. The information herein has not been based on a consideration of any individual investor circumstances and is not investment advice, nor should it be construed in any way as tax, accounting, legal or regulatory advice. To that end, investors should seek independent legal and financial advice, including advice as to tax consequences, before making any investment decision.

OTHER CONSIDERATIONS

The MSCI AC Asia ex Japan Index captures large and mid cap representation across 2 of 3 Developed Markets (DM) countries* (excluding Japan) and 9 Emerging Markets (EM) countries* in Asia. With 637 constituents, the index covers approximately 85% of the free float adjusted market capitalization in each country.

The indexes are unmanaged and do not include any expenses, fees or sales charges. It is not possible to invest directly in an index. Any index referred to herein is the intellectual property (including registered trademarks) of the applicable licensor. Any product based on an index is in no way sponsored, endorsed, sold or promoted by the applicable licensor and it shall not have any liability with respect thereto.

The information presented represents how the portfolio management team generally implements its investment process under normal market conditions.

Morgan Stanley Investment Management is the asset management division of Morgan Stanley.

 

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