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Asia Equity

Quality Growth

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Strategy Focus

Our Asia Equity Strategy is a concentrated portfolio of our best ideas across Asia ex-Japan. Our approach is based on returns being driven by a long-term investment in companies with relatively stable and predictable earnings growth that can be sustained for extended periods of time. The strategy draws on the expertise of our exclusive 23 strong investment team. ESG is integral to our approach given our focus on relatively stable and predictable ‘quality’ earnings growth combined with long-term holding periods. While the strategy is benchmark agnostic, performance is shown relative to the MSCI All Country Asia ex Japan Index.

Strategy name changed from Asia Pacific Equity to Asia Equity effective February 15, 2022.

Investment Process

Many asset managers follow a high quality growth style, but what sets the Quality Growth Boutique apart? We have spent decades building our team and distinct investment approach. Members of our research team discuss our philosophy and process. 

 

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Continuous five-step investment process

  • Concentrate on business analysis (bottom-up approach)
  • Seek high quality growth at sensible prices
  • High conviction portfolio
  • Benchmark unconstrained
  • Long-term focus

Portfolio Management

Asia Equity Composite

 
 

Source: Vontobel. All results portrayed are expressed in U.S. dollars. Periods under one year are not annualized. Past performance is not necessarily indicative of future results.

The composite‘s gross rates of return are presented before the deduction of investment management fees, other investment-related fees, and after the deduction of foreign withholding taxes, brokerage commissions and transaction costs. An investor‘s actual return will be reduced by investment advisory fees. The composite‘s net rates of return are presented after the deduction of investment management fees, brokerage commissions, transaction costs, other investment-related fees and foreign withholding taxes. Results portrayed reflect the reinvestment of dividends and other earnings. The comparison to an index is provided for informational purposes only and should not be used as the basis for making an investment. There may be significant differences between the composite and the index, including but not limited to the risk profile, liquidity, volatility and asset composition. The MSCI All Country Asia ex Japan Index is a free floatadjusted market capitalization index of approximately 700 stocks that is designed to measure equity market performance in 13 countries in the Asia region, excluding Japan. The index is calculated on a total return basis with net dividends reinvested. It reflects withholding taxes, but not fees and other investment expenses.

Data as of 06-30-2024

Characteristics1

 Vontobel Asia Equity
Capitalization (US$ bn), weighted avg286.3
P/E - Forecast 12-month, weighted harmonic avg16.9
Dividend Yield (%)1.6
5 Yr Historical EPS Growth (%)10.9
Return on Equity, weighted avg (%)17.6

 

Risk Statistics (5 Year)2

 

 Vontobel Asia Equity
Annualized Alpha-3.6
Beta0.9
Sharpe Ratio-0.2
Annualized Standard Deviation17.1

 

Top 10 Portfolio Holdings3

 

 %
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited9.8
Tencent Holdings Limited7.8
SK hynix Inc.7.1
Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.5.2
Cipla Limited3.2
Reliance Industries Limited3.1
Power Grid Corporation of India Limited3.1
President Chain Store Corporation3.0
NVIDIA Corporation2.9
HDFC Bank Ltd.2.8
% in Top 10 Holdings48.0

Source: FactSet.

1 Based on a representative portfolio and shown as supplemental information to the composite presentation. Other accounts contained in the composite could have materially different statistics. The basis for which the representative portfolio was selected is that the portfolio is the oldest and most representative account. The securities identified and described do not represent all of the securities purchased, sold or recommended for client accounts. The reader should not assume that an investment in the securities identified was or will be profitable.

2 Based on gross performance of the Asia Equity Composite. The composite‘s gross rates of return are presented before the deduction of investment management fees, other investment-related fees, and after the deduction of foreign withholding taxes, brokerage commissions and transaction costs. An investor’s actual return will be reduced by investment advisory fees

3 The top 10 holdings are based on a representative portfolio, and are shown as supplemental information to the Asia Equity Composite. The securities identified and described do not represent all of the securities purchased, sold or recommended for client accounts. The reader should not assume that an investment in the securities identified was or will be profitable.

 

Data as of 06-30-2024

Country Allocations

 

 

 

Sector Allocations

 

 

Source: FactSet. Data is based on a representative portfolio and shown as supplemental information to the composite presentation. Other accounts contained in the composite could have materially different statistics. The basis for which the representative portfolio was selected is that the portfolio is the oldest and most representative account.

Asia Equity Composite

Claim of compliance and performance examination

Vontobel Asset Management, Inc. (“Vontobel”) claims compliance with the Global Investment Performance Standards (GIPS®) and has prepared and presented this report in compliance with the GIPS standards. Vontobel has been independently verified for the periods from January 1, 2001 through December 31, 2022. A firm that claims compliance with the GIPS standards must establish policies and procedures for complying with all the applicable requirements of the GIPS standards. Verification provides assurance on whether the firm's policies and procedures related to composite and pooled fund maintenance, as well as the calculation, presentation, and distribution of performance, have been designed in compliance with the GIPS standards and have been implemented on a firm-wide basis. The Asia Equity composite has had a performance examination for the periods from January 1, 2005 through December 31, 2022. The verification and performance examination reports are available upon request.

Firm definition

Vontobel is an investment advisory firm registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission, under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended, and a subsidiary of Vontobel Holding AG, Zurich, Switzerland. For GIPS purposes, the firm is defined as all institutional accounts managed by Vontobel Quality Growth boutique, excluding wrap accounts and private client assets managed in previous years.

Composite description

The Asia Equity Composite includes all discretionary accounts, excluding wrap accounts and private client assets, whose principal investments include equity or equity-linked securities of issuers located in the developed and emerging markets of Asia excluding Japan. The minimum account size for this composite is $1 million. The composite was created and incepted on January 1, 2001.

List of composites

The firm maintains a complete list and description of composites as well as a list of broad distribution pooled funds, which are available upon request.

GIPS policies

Policies for valuing investments, calculating performance and preparing GIPS Reports are available upon request.

Total firm assets

Total firm assets as of 12/31/2023: $24.633 mil.; 12/31/2022: $23,788mil.; 12/31/2021: $36.017mil.; 12/31/2020: $38.334mil.

Benchmark description

Since February 15, 2022, results of the composite are shown compared to the MSCI All Country Asia ex-Japan (MSCI AC Asia ex-Japan) Index, an unmanaged index of stocks traded in markets of the Asia region, excluding Japan. The benchmark was changed to provide a closer representative comparison versus the composite. The benchmark is used for comparative purposes only and generally reflects the risk or investment style of the investments in the composite. The current index is a free float-adjusted market capitalization index of approximately 1,250 stocks that is designed to measure equity market performance in 2 of 3 Developed Markets countries (excluding Japan) and 8 Emerging Markets countries in Asia. The index is calculated on a total return basis with net dividends reinvested. It reflects withholding taxes, but not fees and other investment expenses, and is expressed in U.S. Dollars. Investments made by Vontobel for the portfolios it manages according to respective strategies may differ significantly in terms of security holdings, industry weightings and asset allocation from those of the MSCI AC Asia ex-Japan Index. The index has not been examined by an independent verifier. Prior to February 15, 2022, results of the composite were shown compared to the MSCI All Country Asia Pacific ex-Japan Index, an unmanaged index of stocks traded in markets of the Asia Pacific region, excluding Japan.

Withholding taxes

Net composite performance is presented after the deduction of foreign withholding taxes. Capital gains, dividends and interest income received may be subject to withholding taxes imposed by the country of origin and such taxes may not be recoverable.

Calculation method

The U.S. Dollar is the currency used to express performance. Returns include the effect of foreign currency exchange rates. Returns are presented gross and net of management fees and include the reinvestment of all income. The gross rates of return are presented before the deduction of investment management fees and other investment-related fees, and after the deduction of foreign withholding taxes, brokerage commissions and transaction costs. The net rates of return are presented after the deduction of investment management fees, brokerage commissions, transaction costs, other investment-related fees, foreign withholding taxes and bundled fees. Such investment management fees are actual fees and do not contain any performance-based fee components.  Withholding tax rates for the indices are applicable to Luxembourg withholding companies. Our withholding taxes, as captured in the composites, may vary from those captured in the index. Effective January 2016, the net returns reflect daily accruing of fees based on each account’s fee schedule. Prior to 2016, the net returns were calculated using actual fees recorded on a cash basis.

Fee schedule

The standard annual management fees charged by Vontobel for the Composite are: 0.95% on the first $100 million, 0.85% over $100 million. Certain accounts may have negotiated management fees, which may be higher or lower than the standard fee schedule. Investment advisory fees are further described in Part 2 of its Form ADV.

Significant event

Mr. Brian Bandsma took over the management of the Vontobel Asia Equity Strategy from March 7, 2016 to September 30, 2021. From June 30, 2020  to October 1, 2021, Mr. Jin Zhang and Mr. Ian Chun were the co-PMs for the strategy respectively. As of November 9, 2023, Mr. Chun is the PM for the strategy. There were no changes to the composite strategy as a result of these management changes.

Effective February 15, 2022, the composite name has changed from Asia Pacific Equity to Asia Equity. The benchmark has also changed from MSCI AC AP ex-Japan to MSCI AC Asia ex-Japan.

Past performance

Past performance is not indicative of future results. Investing involves risk, including possible loss of principal. Value and income received are not guaranteed and one may get back less than originally invested. GIPS® is a registered trademark of CFA Institute. CFA Institute does not endorse or promote this organization, nor does it warrant the accuracy or quality of the content contained herein.

Important information

The index comparisons in this presentation are provided for informational purposes only and should not be used as the basis for making an investment decision. Further, the performance of the composite and the Index may not be comparable. There are significant differences between the composite and the indices referenced, including, but not limited to, risk profile, liquidity, volatility and asset composition. Please note that an investor cannot invest directly in an index. Investments discussed in the presentation is based on a representative portfolio and there is no assurance that Vontobel will make any investments with the same or similar characteristics as the representative portfolio presented. The representative portfolio is presented for discussion purposes only and is not a reliable indicator of the performance or investment profile of the composite.Any projections contained in this presentation are based on a variety of estimates and assumptions. There can be no assurance that the assumptions made in connection with the projections will prove accurate, and actual results may differ materially. The inclusion of projections should not be regarded as an indication that Vontobel considers the projections to be a reliable prediction of future events and projections should not be relied upon as such. This disclaimer applies to this presentation and the oral or written comments of any person presenting it. The inclusion in the composite of the performance of wrap accounts and private client assets could result in a material difference in the performance returns. There can be no assurance that investment objectives will be achieved. Clients must be prepared to bear risk of a total loss of their investment. Due to a varying frequency of the fees being paid and associated compounding effects, the actual difference between gross and net returns may differ from the stated annual fee. For example, on an account with a 0.50% fee, continuous monthly gross performance of 1.50% and the fees being deducted monthly, the compounding effect will result in an annual gross return of 19.56% and a net return of 18.97%. Thus, a $10,000 initial investment would grow to approximately $14,295 gross of fees, versus $14,155 net of fees, over a two-year period. Effective January 2016, the net-of-fees rates of return are calculated based on the fee schedule. All net returns that were previously calculated on a cash basis are linked to the returns being calculated under the new methodology, reflecting daily accrual of fees. Vontobel Asset Management, Inc. (“Vontobel”) is registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission as an investment adviser under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended, in the USA. Registration as an Investment Advisor with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission does not imply a certain level of skill or expertise. Vontobel is exempt from the requirements to hold an Australian Financial Services License under the Corporations Act in respect of the financial services it provides to Australian wholesale clients under ASIC Class Order CO 03/1100. Vontobel is regulated by the US Securities and Exchange Commission under US laws, which differ from Australian laws.

 

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