Fund of the week: trust to Luk

It's telling that when Henrietta Luk left her last job as manager and co-founder of Eva Asset Management, "some 90% of her clients followed" her into Melchior, says Mark Dampier in The Independent. And "they must be glad they did; the Asian Opportunities Fund has performed superbly". Since launching in April 2005, it's returned 160%, against 95.9% for its benchmark index, and this year alone it's up 36% so far.

Luk makes all her investment decisions from the company's base in Hong Kong. As of 31 July, 27.8% of the fund was invested there, and a further 45.8% in Taiwan. "Luk believes this is a one-off opportunity to see significant gains in Asia," says Liz Philips in the Daily Mail. The Chinese government has relaxed rules on investing overseas, and for the first time ever, some Chinese citizens will be allowed to invest in stockmarkets other than Shanghai's. This should provide an extra lift for markets in the region, she believes.

With this in mind, she has positioned the portfolio towards growth stocks, such as semiconductor manufacturers Elan Microelectronics Corp and Taiwanese LCD TV maker Amtran. The latter recently saw its shares jump 38% on the back of strong results in July, as the company saw its Vizio brand leap from seventh to second place in the US market. With those sorts of stock-picking skills, combined with "19 years of experience" in fund management, Luk is "just the sort of manager I want running my money", says Dampier.

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

Telephone: 0207 367 5400

Melchior Asian Opportunities top ten holdings

Name of holding, % of assets

Elan Microelectronics Corp, 3.73%

Simplo Technology Co Ltd, 3.34%

Prime View International Co, 3.26%

Hong Kong Exchanges and Clear, 3.24%

Amtran Technology Co Ltd, 3.24%

Ene Technology Co Ltd, 3.16%

China Resources Land Ltd, 3.14%

Ali Corp, 3.04%

China Life Insurance, 3.03%

China Mobile Ltd, 3.00%

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.