Juptier Asian Fund sets its sights on intra-regional trade

Stocks capable of benefiting from growth in intra-regional trade in Asia are forming the core of Jupiters reconstructed Asian Fund.

The �38 million Fund, previously known as the Jupiter Far Eastern unit trust, transferred the Japan element of its portfolio to the Jupiter Japan Income Fund in October, following a successful unitholder vote.

The fund will focus on intra-regional trade in the belief many of Asias domestic economies are benefiting from growth in disposable incomes and higher consumer spending.

Philip Ehrmann, who is now managing the Jupiter Asian Fund, said: �While some Asian economies, such as Taiwan, are dependent on exports, much of the recent growth in economies such as China and Malaysia is being driven by domestic demand. Asia is a very dynamic region with consumer spending showing faster growth than Western economies.

�An example of the type of stock we would expect to benefit from this trend is Noble Group. This company, which is listed in Singapore, provides global supply chain management services for agricultural, industrial and energy products. It is gaining substantial benefit from the increase in trade across the region.�

Philip is holding a concentrated portfolio of between 40-50 stocks, and in addition to the consumer discretionary sector, is overweighting industrials and materials. Significant underweights include financials and IT. Geographically, he is favouring China, Malaysia and Singapore and is underweight in Korea and Taiwan.

In contrast to a number of other funds in the sector, The Jupiter Asian Fund will have limited exposure to Australia.