In the back
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[ WHAT I BOUGHT LAST ]
The sell-off in 2018 has led to a
revaluation of equities and many
companies do not look as expensive
as they once were
Willis Owen’s Adrian Lowcock says this fund offers exposure to a
market that is “too cheap to ignore”
Man GLG Japan
CoreAlpha
I
nvesting is all
about the long term.
Trying to predict
what will happen in the
short term is extremely
difficult and virtually
impossible to achieve
with any consistency. It
is better to focus on the
long term, holding a
portfolio of investments
that is well diversified,
offering exposure to a
blend of strategies and
assets that can cope with
every eventuality. You
should find managers
you are comfortable
investing with over the
longer term and refrain
from making too many
FE TRUSTNET
changes, especially
during more difficult
and uncertain periods.
other markets, the
rise in the Nikkei had
been driven by strong
earnings growth and not
Things change
a cosmetic re-rating of
However, things change equities, so when that
and investors who fail to market sold off along
react can be left behind. with everywhere else, it
The sell-off in 2018 led to became even cheaper.
a revaluation of equities Too cheap to ignore, in
and many companies do fact. The country is in a
not look as expensive as period of change and the
they once were. Apart
structural reform that
from the US, many
has taken place in Japan
markets look cheap, both is beginning to spread
on a relative basis and
into the wider economy.
compared with history.
Japan’s culture is
The sell-off means
unique, which makes
Japanese equities are
it hard for foreign
now close to record-
investors to get an
low valuations. Unlike
inside track. As a result,
experience counts
for a lot and there are
few more experienced
managers than Man
GLG Japan CoreAlpha’s
Stephen Harker.
Harker takes a
contrarian approach,
looking for out of favour
companies that appear
to be undervalued when
compared with rivals.
He focuses on valuation
measures including
price-to-book and
price-to-earnings ratios,
aiming to identify
businesses with strong
fundamentals and
management teams
that he believes have
the potential to turn
themselves around.
Group and Sumitomo
Mitsui Financial Group.
Man GLG Japan
Value-added
CoreAlpha offers
A clear focus on value,
exposure to the cheaper
with a long-term horizon areas of one of the
and no consideration for cheapest markets in the
the benchmark, means
world.
the portfolio will differ
from the index. The
contrarian approach
provides exposure to
areas that are out of
favour among other
investors, including the
automotive sector, in
which he holds positions
in Toyota and Honda.
Adrian Lowcock
The fund also invests in
Japan’s banks, including is head of personal
investing at Willis Owen
Mitsubishi Financial
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