Bajaj who is currently manager of the Fidelity Funds Asian Smaller Companies Fund, will replace John Lo, who, the firm said will continue to manage segregated institutional mandates at Fidelity Worldwide Investments.
According to the company, the two men will work the fund together over the ‘forthcoming months’ to realign the fund and ensure a smooth transition. But, it added, the change in manager reflects the board’s desire that the trust’s investment strategy better suit its closed ended structure.
In the company’s results statement, chair, Kate Bolsover, said:” Nitin is a value investor and aims to generate alpha through stock selection within the Asia Pacific ex Japan region in a manner which the Board believes closely delivers the investment objective for its shareholders.
She added: “He prefers investing in smaller companies because they tend to be less well researched, which leads to greater valuation anomalies. Asset allocation at the country and sector level is primarily a result of his bottom-up approach, this is similar to John’s style and there is therefore a continuity of approach.”
The company also intends to change the trust’s reference index from the MSCI AC FE ex Japan to the MSCI AC Asica Pacific ex-Japan index, which it says includes India, Australia and New Zealand, in line with its peer group.
For the six months to end 31 January 2015, NAV rose 9.2%, from £2.55 per ordinary share to £2.78.
