In a recent FE Trustnet article, Bolton (pictured) admitted that his contrarian style of investing contributed to a poor run, which has seen the trust lose almost 20 per cent since it was launched in April 2010. However, Hargreaves Lansdown’ Adrian Lowcock believes that it is only a matter of time until the manager reaches the levels of performance that more experienced investors have been used to.
"The challenge that Bolton took on was very large," Lowcock said.
"I think he realised very quickly that China was not going to be as easy as it was in the UK; there are different rules and the investing dynamics are not the same out there."
"I have been wary of him over the short-term, but he has a strong team behind him and Fidelity is an extremely good fund house. He is nobody’s fool."
Performance of trust vs index since April 2010
Source: FE Analytics
"It may take him a bit of time to adapt, but he has been trading on a discount so there is always room for improvement."
Chris Wise, investment director at Gemmell Financial Services, is of a similar opinion. He believes Bolton is the victim of his own success but fully expects him to turn around performance.
"Unfortunately, the criticism he has had is part of the territory, as expectations are now very high," he said. "I think people are being a bit short-term when they knock his trust."
"It may take some time, but when macro-economic conditions pick up and things are generally more positive, his stock-selection process means he could get back to his previous highs."
Investment trust analyst at Winterflood Simon Elliott is a little more wary, but believes a pick-up in the Chinese economy could see Fidelity China Special Situations rally significantly.
He commented: "Our view is that when Chinese markets turn we expect the trust to do very well."
"When people start buying Chinese equities again, this trust will prosper and the levels of gearing will undoubtedly enhance its capital performance. This is a high-risk play, but has the potential for high returns."
The trust currently has a gearing of 22 per cent.
Elliott highlights the same reasons for the underperformance of Fidelity China Special Sits as Bolton did in a recent interview with FE Trustnet.
"He has a tremendous reputation – and deservedly so – for his performances with a European and UK mandate; however, and he is the first to point this out, his Chinese experience has been disappointing," he said.
"This hasn’t just been down to China’s slowdown though. The trust has a domestic mid and small cap bias which is very interesting and it certainly differentiates him from other managers in the region."
Lowcock believes one of the biggest risks to those invested in the Fidelity trust is the rumour of the manager’s “impending” retirement.
"He has an extremely good long-term track record, but he is reaching the end of his career so what happens over the next one or two years might not matter," he said.
"When it comes to recommending his trust to new clients, the key thing is that he gives investors that clarity that he will stay as manager for the foreseeable future."
"If he does continue to run the fund, he always has the potential to perform well. His investment style just hasn’t suited the markets recently."
"I certainly wouldn’t be writing him off just yet," Lowcock finished.
Fidelity China Special Sits has an ongoing charges figure of 1.7 per cent. It it currently trading on a discount of 2.6 per cent.