Fund of the week: Play the rise of Asia's consumer

It's been a rollicking good year for Asian markets. "But the rally is too much," says Susie Rippingall, manager of the Scottish Oriental Smaller Companies Investment Trust.

"It's happened very quickly, and my concern is that analysts have got ahead of themselves in upgrading economic forecasts and corporate earnings. I specialise in smaller companies, so I see more of basic manufacturing. And they have very little visibility in orders, as they're geared towards the West. So unless you think European and US consumers are going to go back to their old habits, there is a risk of disappointment."

MoneyWeek

Subscribe to MoneyWeek today and get your first six magazine issues absolutely FREE

Get 6 issues free

https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/mw70aro6gl1676370748.jpg

Sign up to Money Morning

Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter

The biggest holding is Home Product Center, "the B&Q of Thailand with about 40 stores". It specialises in modern retail, and sells everything from paint to garden furniture. It trades on a forward p/e of 15.

She also holds Raffles Medical, the hospital and medical centres group, "which is very reasonable value and growing at 10-15% a year". A bottom-up stock picker, Rippingall looks for value when picking stocks, so it's no surprise to see the portfolio now running on a modest median p/e of 12 times.

Over five years, the trust, which has a relatively reasonable expense ratio of 1.6%, has returned 154% against a 130% rise in the MSCI Asia Ex Japan Index.

Tel: 0131-226 3271.

table.ben-table table { border: 3px solid #2b1083;font: 0.928em/1.23em verdana, arial, sans-serif;}

th { background: #2b1083; padding: 10px 5px;color: white;font-weight: bold;text-align: center;border-left: 1px solid #a6a6c9;}th.first { border-left: 0; padding: 5px 2px;text-align: left;}

tr {background: #fff;}

tr.alt {background: #f6f5f9; }

td { padding: 5px 2px;text-align: center;border-left: 1px solid #a6a6c9;color: #000;vertical-align: center;}td.alt { background-color: #f6f5f9; }td.bold { font-weight: bold; }td.first { border-left: 0; text-align: left;}

Scottish Oriental Smaller Companies top ten holdings

Swipe to scroll horizontally

Home Product Center	2.7
MobileOne	2.3
Yuhan Corp	2.3
JVM Co	2.1
Raffles Medical	1.8
Tisco Bank	1.8
Aboitiz Power	1.7
Daegu Bank	1.7
Commercial Bank of Ceylon	1.6
Security Bank	1.6

MoneyWeek is written by a team of experienced and award-winning journalists, plus expert columnists. As well as daily digital news and features, MoneyWeek also publishes a weekly magazine, covering investing and personal finance. From share tips, pensions, gold to practical investment tips - we provide a round-up to help you make money and keep it.