ABERDEEN ASSET MANAGEMENT
£1.25bn in Asia (ex-Japan) equities
Flagship product:
Aberdeen Far East Emerging Economies Unit Trust
Investment and risk management process:
Aberdeen seeks to identify promising stocks for investment using fundamental research and to add value from active management. The identification of “good” companies is said to come not from portfolio trading but from intensive and ongoing scrutiny at the company level.
Absolute rather than index-relative return is deemed to be more important over the long term. Indices are not seen as providing meaningful guidance to the prospects of a company or its inherent worth. Neither market capitalisation nor index membership is held a guarantee of quality.
Therefore, indices are not used as a starting point for building a portfolio, with Aberdeen preferring to rely on “common sense” checks and the principles of diversification. The firm says it is comfortable taking decisive bets against the benchmark, underpinned by convictions from proprietary analysis.
Risk is not equated with divergence from benchmark, but with investing in companies that do not deliver.
Team composition
- Hugh Young, is managing director, Aberdeen Asia. He set up the Singapore office in 1992 as the Group’s Asia-Pacific headquarters. He is also head of equities globally and a member of the executive committee responsible for day-to-day running of the parent company. Before joining Aberdeen, his career included posts at Fidelity International and MGM Assurance.
- Peter Hames is investment director. After graduating in 1983, Mr Hames joined National Westminster Bank, and worked as an investment manager with the Guinness family between 1986 and 1990, specialising in overseas investment.
He joined Aberdeen as a European investment manager in 1990 and transferred to join Hugh Young on the Far East desk when the Singapore office was opened. As investment director in charge of Asian equities, Mr Hames has principal responsibility for day-to-day management of all regional portfolios and also oversees emerging market equities.
- Devan Kaloo is senior investment manager. He began his career at Martin Currie in Edinburgh, Scotland, initially working on the North American team before transferring to the global asset allocation desk. For the next three years, he focused on Asian Portfolios before joining Murray Johnstone in Singapore in July 2000, which was acquired by Aberdeen shortly after.
Mr Devan joined Aberdeen’s Asian equity team and was promoted to senior investment manager in 2003. His current remit includes regional portfolio construction.
- Flavia Cheong, senior investment manager, moved to Aberdeen Asia in August 1996 to help set up an Asian fixed income department. Currently, she co-manages regional equities and leads on China investments.
Her career began at the Development Bank of Singapore as an economist. She later worked at the Investment Company of the People’s Republic of China (a wholly owned subsidiary of the People’s Bank of China).
- Jeremy Whitley joined Edinburgh Fund Managers (EFM) in 1995 as an investment manager on the Pacific equities desk and was promoted to head the department in September 2002. Following the acquisition of EFM by Aberdeen, he relocated to Singapore where he is now part of the regional equities team.
- Adrian Lim joined Aberdeen from Murray Johnstone in December 2000. Now an investment manager, he was previously an associate director at Andersen Corporate Finance advising clients on mergers and acquisitions in South East Asia. He moved from private equity to the Asian equities team in July 2003.
- Andrew Gillan joined the UK equity team at Murray Johnstone in September 2000, subsequently transferring to the Asian equities team in Singapore in November 2001 when Aberdeen took over Murray Johnstone. He is currently an investment manager.
- Christopher Wong is an investment manager who joined Aberdeen Asia on the private equity desk in December 2001 and transferred to the Asian equities team in August 2002. Prior to Aberdeen, he was an associate director with Andersen Corporate Finance, advising clients on mergers & acquisitions in South East Asia.
- Nicholas Yeo is an investment manager who joined Aberdeen Asia from Murray Johnstone in December 2000. He was relocated to Aberdeen’s London office for two years from April 2002, where he worked on the emerging markets (ex Asia) desk, before returning to the Asian equities team in Singapore in March 2004.
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