Schroder ISF Asian Eq Yld A Acc EUR |



by Samuel Lo

The strategy’s best-in-class portfolio manager, well-resourced supporting team, and distinctive investment process continue to deserve our high conviction. King Fuei Lee has managed this strategy since its 2004 inception and has delivered outstanding results for fundholders over the long run. He is an accomplished portfolio manager who has dedicated his 25-year investment career at Schroders, and he has consistently demonstrated impressive insights and adhered to his investment philosophy over the years. The strategy is well-supported by a large and experienced team of around 45 analysts. While the team has seen relative high turnover back in 2019 and 2020, it has regained stability since then, and it continues to be one of our favorite teams in the region. The investment approach focuses on companies with sustainable and growing dividends, and it has been consistently applied and time-tested over market cycles. The bulk of the portfolio is balanced between dividend cows, which provide steady dividends, and dividend growers, which can increase dividends through earnings growth. The two categories perform differently through the market cycle, so they complement each other and provide stability to the portfolio. Dividend surprise stocks, which are expected to make up around 20% of the portfolio, provide additional upside when they are rerated by the market as they improve their capital management. Lee has delivered impressive results over the long run. Over his full tenure, the strategy’s returns were broadly in line with the category benchmark, MSCI AC Asia Pacific ex Japan High Dividend Yield Index, although the results were achieved with a lower volatility, in part thanks to the complementarity of the dividend cows and dividend growers over the long run. More recently, the strategy’s outperformance between 2019 and 2024, which was characterized first by a growth-driven rally up to 2020, followed by a comeback of value stocks since 2021, further attests to the manager’s stock-picking skills and the strength of the investment process. |
Morningstar Pillars | |
People | High |
Parent | Above Average |
Process | High |
![]() |
Morningstar reserve its rights to charge for access to these Ratings and/or Rating report. |
![]() |
Permissions/Reprints E-mail Morningstar |