Pacific Horizon (PHI)

Pacific Horizon (LON:PHI) invests across Asia (excluding Japan), looking for the best growth companies the region has to offer. However, these can be very different to the growth companies held by other Baillie Gifford strategies and other growth-orientated peers. Portfolio manager Roderick Snell looks for growth wherever it comes, including investing in areas such as materials and energy if he can see a sustained growth story (see Portfolio).

Roderick has recently taken on full management responsibilities following the departure of Ewan Markson-Brown. Roderick had been Ewan’s deputy manager throughout his tenure and has been co-managing similar open-ended mandates across Baillie Gifford (see Management).

Asia has been a tough place to invest in over the past year due to a number of factors, but Roderick believes that on a macro level the region is much better placed than developed markets are. He highlights lower government debt levels and more manageable inflation as two key features. He also reiterates that the key growth drivers of Asia remain intact, especially the growing middle classes which he believes will continue to push the region forward. He believes that these financial conditions and growth outlook can be accessed through compelling company valuations, largely due to the negative sentiment around the region (see Performance).

Having been regularly more expensive than its peers, and even trading on a premium for large parts of the past five years, PHI has now fallen to a Discount which is broadly in line with the sector average.