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Asia Pacific Leaders
When investing in Asia, we believe the quality of people, franchise and financials drives long-term returns and reduces risks.
Invest now with DBSThe Asia Pacific Leaders strategy was originally launched in December 2003 and invests in large and mid-sized companies which generally have a total stock market value of at least US$1 billion (hence ‘Leaders’).
This long-only, equity strategy seeks to invest in between 30 to 60 high-quality businesses in the Asia Pacific region (including Australia and New Zealand, but excluding Japan) that are well positioned to contribute to, and benefit from, sustainable development.
Strategy highlights: a focus on quality and sustainability
- Companies must contribute to sustainable development.
- We invest in high-quality companies with exceptional cultures, strong franchises and resilient financials.
- We avoid companies linked to harmful activities and engage and vote for positive change.
- Our approach is long-term, bottom-up, high conviction and benchmark agnostic
- We focus on capital preservation as well as capital growth – we define risk as the permanent loss of client capital
Read more about our investment approach
Fund information
Key documents
Stewart Investors Asia Pacific Leaders Fund Class I (Acc) USD
| FUND | SHARE CLASS | ISIN | SEDOL | DEALING DATE | CURRENCY | NAV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stewart Investors Asia Pacific Leaders Fund 2,3 | Class I (Acc) | IE000AHU5WZ4 | BP83061 | 30 Apr 2025 | USD | 9.3815 |
| Fund launch date | 18 February 2019 |
|---|---|
| Share class launch date | 30 July 2021 |
| Fund size | US$935.1mn |
| Number of holdings | 45 |
| Minimum initial investment | US$1,000 |
| Minimum subsequent investment | US$500 |
| Management fee | 1.45%p.a. |
| Initial charge | 5.0% (Cash) |
| Share type | ACCUMULATION |
| Bloomberg ticker | STPLSIU.ID |
| Security name | Sector | % |
|---|---|---|
| Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. | Consumer Discretionary | 8.6 |
| HDFC Bank INR1 | Financials | 6.4 |
| Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. | Information Technology | 5.5 |
| Midea Group Co. Ltd. Class A | Consumer Discretionary | 5.4 |
| Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation Limited | Financials | 4.8 |
| Shenzhen Inovance Technology Co., Ltd Class A | Industrials | 4.2 |
| Hoya Corporation | Health Care | 3.7 |
| Tata Consultancy Services Limited | Information Technology | 3.3 |
| S.F. Holding Co., Ltd. Class A | Industrials | 3.1 |
| Unicharm Corporation | Consumer Staples | 3.1 |
2 The Fund is classified as an ESG fund in Singapore. For more information please refer to the additional ESG funds information.
3 As of end of 2024, please note that Stewart Investors strategies and the Funds within the First Sentier Investors Global Umbrella Fund plc (Irish VCC) and First Sentier Investors Global Growth Funds (Singapore Unit Trust) have been renamed. Please refer to this note for further information.
Reference to specific securities (if any) is included for the purpose of illustration only and should not be construed as a recommendation to buy or sell the same. All securities mentioned herein may or may not form part of the holdings of Stewart Investors’ portfolios at a certain point in time, and the holdings may change overtime.
Sector breakdown as at 31 Mar 2025
Country breakdown as at 31 Mar 2025
Allocation percentage is rounded to the nearest one decimal place and the total allocation percentage may not add up to 100%.
Stewart Investors Asia Pacific Leaders Fund Class I (Acc) SGD
| FUND | SHARE CLASS | ISIN | SEDOL | DEALING DATE | CURRENCY | NAV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stewart Investors Asia Pacific Leaders Fund 2,3 | Class I (Acc) | IE000DK39VY7 | BQXP672 | 30 Apr 2025 | SGD | 9.8364 |
| Fund launch date | 18 February 2019 |
|---|---|
| Share class launch date | 09 May 2024 |
| Fund size | SG$1,255.2mn |
| Number of holdings | 45 |
| Minimum initial investment | SG$1,000 |
| Minimum subsequent investment | SG$100 |
| Management fee | 1.45%p.a. |
| Initial charge | 5.0% (Cash) |
| Share type | ACCUMULATION |
| Bloomberg ticker | SIAPSGD:ID |
| Security name | Sector | % |
|---|---|---|
| Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. | Consumer Discretionary | 8.6 |
| HDFC Bank INR1 | Financials | 6.4 |
| Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. | Information Technology | 5.5 |
| Midea Group Co. Ltd. Class A | Consumer Discretionary | 5.4 |
| Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation Limited | Financials | 4.8 |
| Shenzhen Inovance Technology Co., Ltd Class A | Industrials | 4.2 |
| Hoya Corporation | Health Care | 3.7 |
| Tata Consultancy Services Limited | Information Technology | 3.3 |
| S.F. Holding Co., Ltd. Class A | Industrials | 3.1 |
| Unicharm Corporation | Consumer Staples | 3.1 |
2 The Fund is classified as an ESG fund in Singapore. For more information please refer to the additional ESG funds information.
3 As of end of 2024, please note that Stewart Investors strategies and the Funds within the First Sentier Investors Global Umbrella Fund plc (Irish VCC) and First Sentier Investors Global Growth Funds (Singapore Unit Trust) have been renamed. Please refer to this note for further information.
Reference to specific securities (if any) is included for the purpose of illustration only and should not be construed as a recommendation to buy or sell the same. All securities mentioned herein may or may not form part of the holdings of Stewart Investors’ portfolios at a certain point in time, and the holdings may change overtime.
Sector breakdown as at 31 Mar 2025
Country breakdown as at 31 Mar 2025
Allocation percentage is rounded to the nearest one decimal place and the total allocation percentage may not add up to 100%.
Quarterly updates
Strategy update: Q4 2024
Asia Pacific Leaders strategy update: 1 October - 31 December 2024
Over most three-month periods, there should be relatively little change in the portfolio. We aim to build resilient portfolios of high-quality companies with diversified streams of cash flows that have the ability to grow in value over the long term.
Chinese equities gave back some gains from the dramatic autumn stimulus which challenged comparative performance in the third quarter of 2024. The performance of the Indian market index struggled after some of the largest companies in India faced governance issues that became subject to enquiry by the regulator in the United States. The re-election of Mr Trump also seemed to distract global investors from Asian equities. At Stewart Investors we continue to concentrate on bottom-up stock selection rather than overly focus on unpredictable macro news flow.
The portfolio purchased Naver (South Korea: Communication Services), South Korea’s dominant internet search engine which has significantly improved its capital allocation in recent years. We also bought Wesfarmers (Australia: Consumer Discretionary), an Australian conglomerate managing an evolving portfolio of retail and healthcare assets, and Tube Investments (India: Consumer Discretionary), a conglomerate of industrial businesses stewarded by the high-quality Murugappa family.
To control position sizes, we trimmed Mahindra & Mahindra (India: Consumer Discretionary), Kotak Mahindra Bank (India: Financials), Tata Consumer Products (India: Consumer Staples), Marico (India: Consumer Staples), Godrej Consumer Products (India: Consumer Staples), HDFC Bank (India: Financials), Tech Mahindra (India: Information Technology), Fisher & Paykel Healthcare (New Zealand: Health Care), OCBC (Singapore: Financials), Hoya (Japan: Health Care), CSL (Australia: Health Care).
During the quarter, we sold our position in Samsung C&T (South Korea: Industrials) to fund better ideas elsewhere.
Views on investment opportunities in Asia have not changed; the strategy continues to look to invest in high-quality companies that are aligned with sustainable development. We look for stewards who are low profile, competent, long-term decision makers, franchises free from political agendas and financials that are resilient, not frail. Our focus is on quality, and we remain indifferent to many of the large, well-known companies, regardless of lower valuations.
Source for company information: Stewart Investors investment team and company data. This stock information does not constitute any offer or inducement to enter into any investment activity. Portfolio data shown is from representative strategy accounts of the strategy shown above. Named new investments disclosed relate to holdings with a portfolio weight over 0.5%. It is not a recommendation or solicitation to purchase or invest in any fund. Differences between the representative account-specific constraints, currency or fees and those of a similarly managed fund or mandate would affect results.
Strategy update: Q3 2024
Asia Pacific Leaders strategy update: 1 July - 30 September 2024
Over most three-month periods, there should be relatively little change in the portfolio. We aim to build resilient portfolios of high-quality companies with diversified streams of cash flows that have the ability to grow in value over the long term.
During the last few days of the quarter the Chinese central bank and government announced monetary and fiscal stimulus measures for the economy, causing Chinese stocks to rally significantly. Whilst it is heartening to see the Chinese authorities attempting to address the problems within the economy it remains unclear whether this stimulus will adequately address broader structural issues like the lack of consumer demand.
The portfolio initiated a position in ICICI Lombard (India: Financials), a conservatively run insurer set to potentially benefit from rising insurance penetration in India. We also purchased a new position in Ayala (Philippines: Industrials), a 190-year-old Filipino conglomerate stewarded by the Ayala family who in recent years have appointed the first ever non-family CEO.
During the quarter we continued to add to Techtronic Industries (Hong Kong: Industrials) and increased our position in Kasikornbank (Thailand: Financials) and Dabur (India: Consumer Staples).
We trimmed our position size in Midea (China: Consumer Discretionary). Whilst we continue to be impressed by Midea’s management team, the efficiency of their production base and their capital allocation, we are wary of the risk US and European tariffs may pose to the 40% of the business which exports goods.1 We also trimmed HDFC Bank (India: Financials), Kotak Mahindra Bank (India: Financials), and Fisher & Paykel Healthcare (New Zealand: Health Care) to fund better ideas elsewhere.
We sold Vitasoy (Hong Kong: Consumer Staples) for liquidity reasons and to fund better ideas elsewhere.
Views on investment opportunities in Asia have not changed; the strategy continues to look to invest in high-quality companies that are aligned with sustainable development. We look for stewards who are low profile, competent, long-term decision makers, franchises free from political agendas and financials that are resilient, not frail. Our focus is on quality, and we remain indifferent to many of the large, well-known companies, regardless of lower valuations.
1 Source: S&P Capital IQ. Calendar year 2023
Source for company information: Stewart Investors investment team and company data. This stock information does not constitute any offer or inducement to enter into any investment activity. Portfolio data shown is from representative strategy accounts of the strategy shown above. Named new investments disclosed relate to holdings with a portfolio weight over 0.5%. It is not a recommendation or solicitation to purchase or invest in any fund. Differences between the representative account-specific constraints, currency or fees and those of a similarly managed fund or mandate would affect results.
Strategy update: Q2 2024
Asia Pacific Leaders strategy update: 1 April - 30 June 2024
Over most three-month periods, there should be relatively little change in the portfolio. We aim to build resilient portfolios of high-quality companies with diversified streams of cash flows that have the ability to grow in value over the long term.
During the quarter, extremely short-term volatility spiked in the immediate days before and after the election in India. Sober reflection on the increased accountability of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the victory for democracy meant Indian equities quickly resumed a more positive direction. At Stewart Investors we studiously avoid companies that are influenced or impacted by politics.
There were no new investments added to the portfolio this quarter. However, we took advantage of lower valuations in China to add to Shenzhen Inovance (China: Industrials) and Techtronic Industries (Hong Kong: Industrials). We also continued to build the position size in Samsung Electronics (South Korea: Information Technology) and Samsung Biologics (South Korea: Health Care).
We also controlled the size of largest position Mahindra & Mahindra (India: Consumer Discretionary) as well as Tech Mahindra (India: Information Technology), Kotak Mahindra Bank (India: Financials) and HDFC Bank (India: Financials). We reduced OCBC Bank (Singapore: Financials) as we believe we have better ideas elsewhere.
In terms of complete divestments, we sold WuXi Biologics (China: Health Care) after a proposed bill in the United States Congress aimed to restrict some Chinese biotech business tie-ups with United States companies due to national security concerns. It was a mistake to invest in WuXi Biologics given the geopolitical risk to which it is exposed. We sold Kingmed Diagnostics (China: Health Care) due to the company’s regulatory exposure. Despite the value provided to customers, it is difficult for us to assess the risk of forced pricing cuts for these Chinese companies amidst reductions to government healthcare spending and we have therefore exited our position. We reappraised franchise development and quality at Pigeon (Japan: Consumer Staples), Infineon Technologies (Germany: Information Technology) and Telkom Indonesia (Indonesia: Communication Services). This resulted in complete divestments from these positions.
Views on investment opportunities in Asia have not changed; the strategy continues to look to invest in high-quality companies that are aligned with sustainable development. We look for stewards who are low profile, competent, long-term decision makers, franchises free from political agendas and financials that are resilient, not frail. Our focus is on quality, and we remain indifferent to many of the large, well-known companies, regardless of lower valuations.
Source for company information: Stewart Investors investment team and company data. This stock information does not constitute any offer or inducement to enter into any investment activity. Portfolio data shown is from representative strategy accounts of the strategy shown above. Named new investments disclosed relate to holdings with a portfolio weight over 0.5%. It is not a recommendation or solicitation to purchase or invest in any fund. Differences between the representative account-specific constraints, currency or fees and those of a similarly managed fund or mandate would affect results.
Strategy update: Q1 2024
Asia Pacific Leaders strategy update: 1 January - 31 March 2024
Over most three-month periods, there should be relatively little change in the portfolio. We aim to build resilient portfolios of high-quality companies with diversified streams of cash flows that have the ability to grow in value over the long term.
During the quarter we initiated three new positions in Samsung C&T (South Korea: Industrials), Techtronic Industries (Hong Kong: Industrials) and MediaTek (Taiwan: Information Technology).
Samsung C&T is the holding company for Samsung Biologics with sizeable positions in group companies such as Samsung Electronics (c.5%).
Samsung Biologics is a world leader in affordable healthcare. Samsung Electronics is a global leader in consumer electronics and chip manufacturing.
In its core business, the company is aiming to invest into areas with strong demand tailwinds such as renewable energy and battery recycling. The group aims to improve governance practices by returning excess cash to shareholders, cancelling treasury shares, improving profitability in core assets and articulating a clear strategy for future capital allocation.
Techtronic Industries is dominant internationally in an array of cordless, hand, measuring and trade power tools for both home and commercial use. They have ownership of strong brands in consolidated areas which results in pricing power. The company is positioned well to grow organically and by acquisition.
MediaTek is a fabless (outsourced production) semiconductor company. They are leaders in integrated chip system solutions which are estimated to power over two billion devices a year from smartphones to home entertainment, connectivity and the internet of things (IoT) products.
We exited Altium (Australia: Information Technology) and HDFC Life (India: Financials). We sold Altium after it was approached by Japanese listed Renesas Electronics for acquisition at 37% premium to the prevailing market price. HDFC Life was sold to fund better ideas elsewhere. We reduced Pigeon (Japan: Consumer Staples) as we have lost conviction in the speed and extent of the evolution of the franchise.
We took advantage of lower valuations in China and continue to build positions in Midea (China: Consumer Discretionary), Shenzhen Inovance Tech (China: Industrials), Glodon (China: Information Technology) and WuXi Biologics (China: Health Care). We also topped up the holding in Samsung Electronics (South Korea: Information Technology).
To finance new investments and our latest additions, and to control position size we trimmed holdings in Tata Consumer Products (India: Consumer Staples), Mahindra & Mahindra (India: Consumer Discretionary), Godrej Consumer Products (India: Consumer Staples), Tech Mahindra (India: Information Technology) and Bank Central Asia (Indonesia: Financials).
Views on investment opportunities in Asia have not changed; the strategy continues to look to invest in high-quality companies that are aligned with sustainable development. We look for stewards who are low profile, competent, long-term decision makers, franchises free from political agendas and financials that are resilient, not frail. Our focus is on quality, and we remain indifferent to many of the large, well-known companies, regardless of lower valuations.
Source for company information: Stewart Investors investment team and company data. This stock information does not constitute any offer or inducement to enter into any investment activity. Portfolio data shown is from representative strategy accounts of the strategy shown above. Named new investments disclosed relate to holdings with a portfolio weight over 0.5%. It is not a recommendation or solicitation to purchase or invest in any fund. Differences between the representative account-specific constraints, currency or fees and those of a similarly managed fund or mandate would affect results.
Portfolio Explorer: Sharing the stories of every company we invest in
At Stewart Investors, we believe that qualitative assessments are as important as quantitative measures. Understanding the real-world impact that companies have and the challenges they face requires context and nuance, which are best expressed in stories.
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For illustrative purposes only. Reference to the names of example company names mentioned in this communication is merely for explaining the investment strategy and should not be construed as investment advice or investment recommendation of those companies. Companies mentioned herein may or may not form part of the holdings of Stewart Investors. Holdings are subject to change.
Certain statements, estimates, and projections in this document may be forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based upon Stewart Investors’ current assumptions and beliefs, in light of currently available information, but involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties. Actual actions or results may differ materially from those discussed. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. There is no certainty that current conditions will last, and Stewart Investors undertakes no obligation to correct, revise or update information herein, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
Source: Stewart Investors investment team and company data. Securities mentioned are all investee companies* from representative Asia Pacific All Cap Strategy, Asia Pacific & Japan All Cap Strategy, Asia Pacific Leaders Strategy, European All Cap Strategy, European (ex UK) All Cap Strategy, Global Emerging Markets (ex China) Leaders Strategy, Global Emerging Markets Leaders Strategy, Global Emerging Markets All Cap Strategy, Indian Subcontinent All Cap Strategy, Worldwide All Cap Strategy and Worldwide Leaders Strategy accounts as at 31 March 2025. *Assets that the strategies may hold which an active decision has not been made, and sustainability assessment does not apply, include cash, cash equivalents, short-term holdings for the purpose of efficient portfolio management and holdings received as a result of mandatory corporate actions. Holdings of such assets will not appear on Portfolio Explorer.
The Stewart Investors supports the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The full list of SDGs can be found on the United Nations website.
Source for Climate Solutions and impact figures: © 2014–2025 Project Drawdown (drawdown.org). Source for Human Development Pillars: Stewart Investors investment team.
Source for climate solutions and human development analysis and mapping: Stewart Investors investment team. Contributions are defined by the team as demonstrable contributions to any solution, either direct (directly attributable to products, services or practices provided by that company), or enabling (supported or made possible by products or technologies provided by that company).
Any views and opinions expressed in this page are First Sentier Investors (Singapore) and may not reflect the position or views of DBS Bank Ltd. DBS Bank Ltd does not act as adviser and does not assume liability for the information and opinions provided in this page or for your reliance on this page. Any view, opinion or recommendation expressed in this page does not take into account the specific investment objectives, financial situation or particular needs of any particular person. You should seek advice from a financial adviser regarding the suitability of any investment product, taking into account your specific investment objectives, financial situation or particular needs.
Investment involves risks. This website is issued by First Sentier Investors (Singapore) whose company registration number is 196900420D and has not been reviewed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore. First Sentier Investors (registration number 53236800B) and Stewart Investors (registration number 53310114W) are the business divisions of First Sentier Investors (Singapore).
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