The company said in a statement that following an “extensive search and evaluation process” it will be adding Dalton Investments and Robeco Institutional Asset Management to the strategy, while reducing exposure to Aberdeen Standard Investments and Matthews International Capital Management.
The intention of the new structure is to enhance the potential for outperformance through greater emphasis on active portfolio management and stock selection, it added.
As a result, Dalton and Robeco will comprise 10% and 25% of the portfolio respectively, while its holding in Aberdeen Standard Investments will be reduced from 42% to 25%, and its allocation to Matthews International Capital Management will drop from 47% to 40%.
It also said it will sell its holding in the Gavekal Asian Opportunities Ucits Fund which previously occupied 10% of the company’s assets.
Witan said each manager will manage a portfolio with the objective of outperforming the MSCI AC Asia Pacific index (sterling), the company’s benchmark.
It added although the managers each have mandates covering the entire Asia Pacific region, the revised mix is expected to increase portfolio exposure to smaller capitalisation or lesser-known companies whose growth prospects have more chance of being underestimated by the market.
Susan Platts-Martin, chairman of Witan Pacific, said: “The board is excited about the potential for the new managers to deliver good returns for Witan Pacific’s shareholders as well as for Matthews and Aberdeen to continue to build on the outperformance they have both delivered since they were appointed.
“Although performance can never be guaranteed, the new structure is expected to deliver a portfolio exposed to a fuller range of opportunities in the region, both geographically and across the size spectrum from mega-caps to smaller companies.
“Witan Pacific’s multi-manager structure has allowed the board to select four active managers, with distinct strategies, to look after different slices of the portfolio and aim to mitigate the volatility that might be experienced investing with a single manager or via a single strategy.”
