Appointment of an Asian Equity Manager

RNS Number : 0490Y

Witan Investment Trust PLC

18 February 2013

 



WITAN INVESTMENT TRUST PLC

18th February 2013

Portfolio Changes: Appointment of an Asian Equity Manager

Witan Investment Trust plc announces that it has appointed Matthews Asia to manage a new £110 million segregated portfolio focused on the Asia Pacific region, including Japan, taking effect from 20th February 2013.

Matthews Asia is the largest dedicated Asia investment specialist in the United States and has been actively investing in the region since 1991. Based in San Francisco, it currently manages USD20.9 billion in assets invested across a range of Asia Pacific equity and bond strategies. The mandate will be run in accordance with the Matthews Asia Dividend strategy.

This new mandate, which will represent approximately 9% of the Witan Investment Trust portfolio, will replace the Asia portfolio previously managed by Comgest (c.6.5% of Witan's assets), whose remit excluded Japan.

Andrew Bell, Chief Executive of Witan Investment Trust says:

"The appointment of Matthews Asia reflects our belief that Asia's economies have become increasingly interdependent and although Witan has benefited from being substantially underweight in Japan in recent years this will not always be the case. We therefore believe that having a manager with the ability to allocate capital actively on the basis of stock-specific factors across the entire region is preferable to predetermining allocations to Japan and Asia separately. Matthews' approach is to concentrate on choosing companies across the whole of the Asia Pacific region that offer attractive and growing dividend-paying characteristics.

This appointment is part of our continuing move to invest more with specialist managers who have innovative and high-conviction approaches towards creating value through stock picking and portfolio construction."

-ENDS-

For further information please contact:

Andrew Bell, Chief Executive Officer

Witan Investment Trust plc

Tel: [phone]

[e-mail]

James Frost, Marketing Director

Witan Investment Trust plc

Tel: [phone]

[e-mail]

Jain Castiau, Director

Cauldron Consulting

Tel: [phone]

[e-mail]

Notes

Witan Investment Trust plc

Established in 1909, Witan is one of the UK's largest investment trusts, managing some £1.2bn (as at 30.06.2012; source: Witan) on behalf of some 32,000 investors. Witan is listed in the 'Global Growth' sector and is a member of the FTSE 250 index. Registered as an Investment Company in England No 101625. Further information may be found at www.witan.com.  

Matthews Asia

Matthews Asia, an independent, privately owned firm based in San Francisco, is the largest dedicated Asia-only investment specialist in the U.S. At 31 December 2012, Matthews had USD20.9 billion in assets under management, including an Asia Dividend strategy portfolio managed for Witan Pacific Investment Trust since April 2012. Matthews Asia employs a fundamental, bottom-up investment process that seeks to identify companies with sustainable long-term growth prospects, strong business models, quality management teams and reasonable valuations. Matthews Asia will seek to invest its portion of the Trust in companies that are paying high dividends relative to their current share price, or are well-positioned to do so in the future.

 

END

 

 

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