RCS - Fidelity Asian Val. - Results analysis from Kepler Trust Intelligence

Fidelity Asian ValuesAnnouncement

Tue 16:30

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RNS Number : 1730F  Fidelity Asian Values PLC  28 October 2025

Fidelity Asian Values (FAS)

28/10/2025

Results analysis from Kepler Trust Intelligence

Fidelity Asian Values (FAS) has released its annual results for the year
ending 31/07/2025, with a NAV total return of 12.4%, beating its benchmark
which returned 7.1%. FAS also outperformed its peer group average return of
7.8%.

Contributors to outperformance stem from a wide range of sources. The top
contributor was a semi-conductor firm benefiting from the AI boom, second was
an Australian gold mining firm and third was a long-held Vietnamese apparel
manufacturer.

Gearing added an additional 250bps to relative performance, though the level
was reduced over the period, reflecting the market recovery leading to higher
valuations. Derivatives were used to short stocks which also generated
additional alpha in the year.

FAS' share price performed well, leading to the discount trading at its
narrowest point at the year end. This trend has continued since giving the
trust the narrowest discount in the peer group. This has been aided by share
buybacks, which added c. 70bps to NAV and have continued post results.

The trust announced a 41.4% increase in its dividend, driven by increase in
underlying revenue as well as changes to the charging structure, now split
across the capital account and to revenue.

Chair Clare Brady reflected on the good performance, highlighting that the
trust: "Has been able to do so well against a backdrop of turmoil and extreme
volatility  which  speaks to the fact that the fund offers investors excellent
risk diversification" whilst also remaining positive on the outlook, noting
the managers "continue to see good prospects for their portfolio of
undervalued, quality businesses."

Kepler View

We believe these results are a strong validation of managers Nitin Bajaj and
Ajinkya Dhavale's approach, with their contrarian mindset capturing market
turning points that have been a feature of the period under review. Asian
markets have been through considerable changes in the past year, and the
managers' positioning in this environment was favourable, albeit purely a
function of their bottom-up, stock selection focus, which has proven its
worth. This has reinforced FAS' long-term outperformance of its benchmark
which we believe demonstrates the quality of the approach.

Furthermore, the managers remain optimism for the future. Whilst the asset
classes' aggregate valuations are at or above long-term averages, Nitin and
Ajinkya's portfolio is trading considerably lower than the market on average.
The trust's positioning remains highly differentiated too, especially with an
allocation to China's 'old economy' stocks and to Indonesia. As such, we
believe FAS is a unique proposition that offers diversification benefits and
upside potential.

The improved dividend outlook has also been positive in our view. The tweaks
to how charges are attributed are small, but have improved the long-term
income potential considerably as more can be passed on as dividends, further
adding to the trust's appeal.

These factors may well have contributed to the trust's discount narrowing. We
think this creates attraction to both the recovery in the region, and the
successful strategy of FAS' managers.

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