Fidelity Asian Values PLC on Wednesday reported a net asset value increase in the first six months of its financial year, and said it is ‘well positioned’ to weather market conditions.
The investment trust reported an NAV per share increase of 544.18 pence on January 31, up 7.2% from 507.78p at the end of July.
The NAV per share rose 8.9% from 499.63p a year prior. Shares in Fidelity Asian Values were down 0.5% at 507.56 pence, in London on Wednesday morning.
The trust is focused on smaller companies across major Asian economies.
Asian markets had fallen in the first three months of Fidelity Asian’s reporting period, due to interest rate hikes and inflationary concerns. Taiwan and China underperformed the most due to Covid-19 restrictions, geopolitical concerns and a slowing technology cycle.
However, Fidelity Asian said: ‘We are not perturbed by these short-term gyrations in the stock market, and we continue to focus on investing in good businesses, run by good management teams that are available at a suitable margin of safety.’
Fidelity Asian’s net asset value total return was 10%, outperforming the MSCI All Countries Asia ex Japan Small Cap Index’s return of 3.6%.
‘We believe that the companies we own are well-run businesses, where management teams are both competent and treat us as their partners, and we are buying them at a discount to our assessment of their intrinsic value,’ Fidelity Asian commented.
‘If we adhere to our process, we should be well positioned in the medium-term, irrespective of market and style cycles in the shorter-term.’
Like in the year prior, it declared no dividend for the first-half.
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