Funds Selection Nexus, Hong Kong 2014

Date: Thursday October 16, 2014
Time: 8:30am to 12:15pm
Venue: JW Marriott Hotel
The FSN offers the private banking funds selection community the rare opportunity to meet with hard-to-access fund managers. Similar to last year, selected fund managers will be presenting a series of 30-minute presentations in a group speed-dating format. A Q&A session will follow the presentations and one-on-one meetings will be facilitated upon request.

HY FRN’s: Ride the rising interest rate tide

Following several years of all-time low interest rates and a global economy that is gaining momentum, many investors are beginning to anticipate rate rises and are looking at ways they can protect their bond portfolios from a tightening of monetary policy. High yield floating rate notes (FRNs) can provide a natural hedge against rising rates while offering an attractive level of income. Gordon Harding from M&G’s fixed interest team will provide an overview of the market and introduce a new fund that can serve as an alternative to leveraged loans.

Gordon Harding, Investment Specialist, M&G Investments
Gordon Harding joined M&G in 2003 and is an investment specialist covering M&G’s retail fixed interest fund range. He previously worked at Thomson Financial, heading up a team of data analysts working on the Datastream product. Gordon graduated from Leeds Metropolitan University in 1999 with a BA (Hons) in economics and public policy.


The rise of the Asian Consumer

Welcome to the age of the “Asian Consumer”: a trend that is long-term and sustainable in the emerging markets, created by the increase in purchasing power of the rising middle class and with it the change in patterns of consumption. Further driven by population growth, industrialization and urbanization across all emerging
economies, consumer spending priorities are prevalent throughout the various sectors like healthcare, luxury spending, mobilization, tourism and gaming. The huge potential and increasing influence of the “Asian Consumer” presents opportunities abound.

Joohee An, Senior Portfolio Manager, Mirae Asset
Joohee An is a senior portfolio manager at Mirae Asset Global Investments (Hong Kong) Limited, where she manages Asia portfolios focusing on the beneficiary sectors of the increasing domestic consumption growth, including the ‘Great Consumer’ range of products. Joohee joined the Mirae Asset Global Investments Group in 2006 in Korea, where she was an analyst covering the consumer, healthcare, telecoms and energy sectors at Mirae Asset Global Investments Co., Ltd. She was promoted to portfolio manager shortly after. In 2009 she was transferred to Mirae Asset Global Investments (Hong Kong) Limited to work as a portfolio manager covering regional stocks with a focus on the consumer and consumer-related sectors. She started her career at LG Securities in Seoul, Korea where she worked as an equity analyst from 2004 to 2006. Joohee holds a BA in Business Administration from Yonsei University, Seoul. She is a native Korean speaker and is fluent in English.


European High Yield – Is it Too Late or Is the Party Just Getting Started?

Neuberger Berman recently launched a European High Yield Bond fund, which aims to give investors access to the growing number of non-investment grade companies issuing debt in Europe. This session will introduce delegates to the Neuberger Berman fund manager, Andrew Wilmont (formerly head of European high yield at AXA and Alcentra) and his thoughts on 1) the evolution of the European high yield market (how much it has grown, whether growth is sustainable, what makes it unique), 2) what skills are required to be successful in the European high yield market, 3) current valuations in the market (whether they are attractive), and 4) the investment outlook for
Europe, including fundamentals and default rate predictions. Andrew will discuss the total return expectations for 2014 and will also offer his views on how 2015 is shaping up.

Andrew Wilmont, CFA, Managing Director, Portfolio Manager for European High Yield, Neuberger Berman
Andrew Wilmont, CFA, Managing Director, joined the firm in 2014. Andrew is the Portfolio Manager for European High Yield portfolios. Prior to joining the firm, Andrew served as head of European high yield investments at Alcentra Ltd. Before his work at Alcentra, he served as head of European high yield strategies at AXA Investment Managers. He has also held positions as a high yield portfolio manager at Pareto Partners, and a high yield credit analyst at New Flag Asset Management. Andrew began his high yield investment career in 1997 at Gulf International Bank. Andrew earned a LLM in Law and MsC in Business Economics from Vrije Universiteit in
Amsterdam and has been awarded the Chartered Financial Analyst designation.


China Reform Dividend Starts Kicking In

Under the strong Xi leadership, China’s economy has fast-forwarded to her next stage: “Reform Dividend”. This was made possible by a lightning progress on the Renminbi internationalization. The New Capital China Equity Fund Manager, Mansfield Mok, will elaborate why he thinks the “State-owned Enterprise Reform” will become another important investment theme for China after the “Consumer Boom”, “Mobile Commerce” and “Revival of Non-Bank Financial”.

Mansfield Mok, Senior Vice President, Fund Manager, New Capital China Equity Fund
Mansfield Mok is the Senior Vice President and Fund Manager of the New Capital China Equity Fund. Prior to joining EFG Asset Management, Mansfield was a senior fund manager at GAM where he spent five years managing the GAM Star China Equity Fund, a USD1.5 billion fund, as well as institutional mandates investing in Hong Kong and China equity. Previously, he assisted in creating Munich Re Asia Capital Management’s first Asian Investment office in 2000 and ran Singapore and Malaysia local currency balanced portfolios, single country equity funds
and co-managed Asian equity portfolios. Mansfield started his career as an equity analyst with Hoare Govett in 1990 before moving on to ING Barings Securities HK Limited two years later. Mansfield holds an MSc in Financial Engineering, an MBA and a BSc in Industrial Engineering.


Investment opportunities in UK equity markets

Falling inflation, positive growth in real income, further growth in employment, increased housing transactions, gently rising house prices, a dovish Bank of England – all of these are supportive to the momentum of recovery and growth in the UK. The Old Mutual UK Alpha Fund is focused on maximising long-term capital growth through a high conviction portfolio, concentrated on 35-40 UK large cap companies, with no benchmark or tracking error constraints. The fund has stood the test of time through rallying, volatile and defensive markets and is managed by one the UK’s most experienced and successful Fund Managers, Richard Buxton.

Richard Buxton, Head of UK Equities, Old Mutual Global Investors
Richard joined Old Mutual as Head of UK Equities in June 2013. He was previously Head of UK Equities at Schroders, where he managed the Schroders UK Alpha Plus Fund for over 10 years. Prior to Schroders he spent over a decade at Baring Asset Management, having commenced his investment career in 1985 at Brown Shipley Asset Management. Richard was awarded the Outstanding Contribution to the Industry Honour at the Morningstar OBSR Awards in 2012 and has a BA in English Language and Literature from Oxford University (1985).

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