This lengthy piece in the Financial Times thinks so. Regular readers will recall several posts on this blog concerning Anthony Bolton, one of the best fund managers in the UK. He wrote the book, Investing Against the Tide: Lessons From a Life Running Money
And now he's postponing a planned retirement to move to Hong Kong and setup a China-focused investment fund.
Mr Bolton insists he has the skills and experience to deliver for his investors. During his tenure, the special situations fund successfully invested in Chinese companies, including some “A shares” – Chinese-listed and largely restricted to local investors. During his regular visits in the past five years, he also has gained experience of working with Chinese management.
He points out that he decided against investing in Gome, the electronics retailer, after meetings with executives left him uncomfortable with its management and accounting. The company was seen as a sure bet on growth in consumer demand but, since the arrest of Gome’s founder a year ago on insider trading and bribery charges, its Hong Kong-listed shares now trade at roughly one-sixth of their price at the start of 2008.
Mr Bolton will benefit from Fidelity’s established research and analyst presence in Hong Kong. Its China Focus fund, with stocks worth $4bn, is managed by Martha Wang, a Mandarin speaker with 16 years’ experience researching Chinese companies. Indeed, many of Fidelity’s 30 Asian regional analysts and 18 portfolio managers speak the language. Some will accompany Mr Bolton to meetings with company managements, providing not only translation but local intelligence.
The strategy and size of Mr Bolton’s fund is yet to be decided. He does say, however, that it will make larger bets than Fidelity’s existing China funds and will be run according to his style, characterised by bottom-up investing with contrarian calls.
As well as his stock-picking skills, Mr Bolton says he will bring a fresh perspective and an ability to spot emerging trends in new industries given his experience of developing European markets in the 1980s and beyond. Chinese companies in services and pharmaceuticals, for example, are expected to benefit from policies to support domestic consumption, develop new industries and promote a greener economy.
“The spotlight is on me and I have to outperform,” he says. “I am keen to get started, and we’ll see what happens.”
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