CREDIT Lyonnais International Asset Management fund manager Julia Sze is based in San Francisco, which might sound an odd place from which to manage an award-winning Far East fund.
Nonetheless, the CL Pacific Growth Fund has taken top place in the five-year Far East and Pacific equities category, vindicating CL's strategy of distant management.
Ms Sze also manages the Lion Fortune Asian Growth Fund and acts as country specialist for Australia and New Zealand.
'I make at least four trips a year to visit all the countries I'm invested in,' Ms Sze said. 'I see an average of 40 companies per visit and have an occasional conference in New York which adds several more to the list.
'My funds are very concentrated, with generally between 35 and 40 stocks in the portfolio.
'That gives me plenty of time and brain space to focus on the sectors and industries I favour: infrastructure, consumption, and financial services.' Being away from a desk with phone calls and other distractions meant she could spend more time on research and longer-term strategy, she said.