It is the second-best performing fund in the IMA Asia Pacific inc Japan sector over one, three and five years, and the best over 10 years, with returns of 200 per cent. Data from FE Analytics shows the fund yielding 0.8 per cent and returning more than all but one of its peers while taking on less volatility over all time periods.
It also has an FE Risk Score of 84, indicating that the fund takes on less risk than the FTSE 100 over the longer-term.
Looking at a 12-month period, the fund has returned 4.6 per cent, while the average fund in the IMA Asia Pacific inc Japan sector has lost money.
Performance of fund vs sector over 1-yr
Source: FE Analytics
SJP Far East aims to provide capital appreciation over the medium- to long-term through investing across Asia. Its top-10 holdings include Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp, Shin-Etsu Chemical and Unicharm Corp.
Alternatives
Investors who want a similar fund can look to the Aberdeen Asia Pacific & Japan fund, which also has the maximum number of crowns under the FE Crown Fund Ratings system. There is a crossover in managers – it is run by Aberdeen’s Asian equities team, which is headed up by Hugh Young.
The £213.9m fund is a favourite of investors and multi-managers alike; the £21.8m Thesis Oenoke fund includes the vehicle among its top-10 holdings.
Aberdeen Asia Pacific & Japan has produced similar returns to the SJP fund over all time periods.
Its top-10 holdings also include Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp and Shin-Etsu Chemical.
The IFA’s view
"SJP funds in general tend to have limited range and while there are some good managers I don't think they perform necessarily as well as in their retail funds," said Kerry Nelson, director of Nexus IFA.
"Their funds usually have a specific mandate that perhaps may not turn quite like the retail version."
"The difference in performance between SJP and Aberdeen is around 3 per cent, which really endorses that SJP funds may have the whizzy fund managers, but perhaps because of covenants and different mandates this explains the difference in overall performance."
Verdict
For investors who want exposure to the high growth region of Asia, both the SJP Far East and the Aberdeen Asia Pacific & Japan fund offer a safe pair of hands.
The SJP fund has marginally underperformed the Aberdeen fund, but charges are slightly cheaper; the standard initial charge and AMC come to 6 per cent for the first year for both funds, but the ongoing TER is 1.65 per cent for the SJP fund, compared with 1.8 per cent from Aberdeen.
While investors in this fund are unlikely to be there for the income, it is worth noting that the Aberdeen fund’s yield is slightly lower, at 0.7 per cent.