JF says it is time to be bullish on Asia again as the region is set to benefit from improving conditions in the US, Europe and Japan
Once again the fund houses are presenting investors with a paradox. On the one hand they tell investors not to try to time the market and to just plod along investing steadily in a diversified basket of funds. On the other, when the performance numbers are starting to look interesting again, they cannot resist the temptation to tell us that now is the time to buy because great opportunities are just around the corner.
The favourite theme at the moment is, of course, equity funds.
At a recent briefing for fund distributors and the press about the outlook for Asia Pacific equities, JF Asset Management had a lot to say about how Asia is set to benefit from improving conditions in the United States, Japan and Europe as well as within the region itself. JF's message was clear - a full global cyclical recovery is under way - it is time to be bullish on Asia equities again.
Asia has several factors in its favour, according to Piers Litherland, JF Asset Management's chief investment officer. Typically perceived as more risky than other markets, Asia benefits when risk aversion fades. With valuations that are more reasonable than in other regions, and steady improvements in corporate health, the stage is set for a recovery that will outpace that of the rest of the world, he says.
China will provide enough oomph for the whole region to take off.
'Asia is all about Chinese growth, although a sustained US recovery would, of course, provide further strength,' he says.