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The United Asia Fund (the “Fund”) aims to achieve long-term capital growth by investing mainly in companies based in Asia (excluding Japan). These companies are either directly Asia-based or have a significant portion of their business in the region.
Why invest in Asia?
1) Investors can no longer ignore Asia
2) Good time to enter Asian markets
Attractive valuations
Major Asian markets, including China, Hong Kong and ASEAN are attractively priced. Current price-to-earnings (P/E) valuations of the following economies are about 5% lower than their 10 year average.5
Source: UOBAM, Factset, as of December 2023
Resilience despite global challenges
Asia continues to show economic resilience with healthy real gross domestic product (GDP) levels net of inflation, compared to the rest of the world.
Source: International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook, December 2023
Market under-representation
Even though over half of the world’s stocks are listed in Asia, Asian markets comprise less than 15% of global indices.8 Institutional investors will likely have to increase their Asia holdings in the coming year.
Why invest in the United Asia Fund?
1) Strong outperformance
The Fund has delivered returns well above both its benchmark and industry peers’ performance.
Source: UOBAM, as of 31 December 2023 | Peers category: Asia ex Japan Equity, Index: Morningstar Asia x Japan SGD | Benchmark: MSCI AC (All Country) Asia ex Japan Index. Performance figures for 1 month till 1 year show the per cent change, while performance figures above 1 year show the average annual compounded returns. Past performance is not necessarily indicative of future performance.
2) Extensive presence in Asia
Headquartered in Singapore, UOBAM has an extensive local presence across Asia. By investing in the Fund, investors can leverage UOBAM’s on-the-ground insights for opportunities in the region.
3) Powered by AI Augmentation@UOBAM
The Fund applies UOBAM’s proprietary artificial intelligence (AI)-Augmentation capabilities. AI can enhance investment returns, but even more so in highly diverse and data-rich Asian markets. In 2020, the United Asia Fund became one of the first funds in UOBAM to apply the firm’s AI-Augmentation investment framework.
The framework seamlessly merges AI techniques with analyst processes, enabling the integration of AI-driven insights and human expertise.
Since the implementation of the AI-Augmentation investment framework, the Fund has frequently outperformed its benchmark, achieving a significant excess return. This performance underscores the effectiveness of our strategic approach in the investment landscape.
Source: UOBAM, Morningstar, as of 31 December 2023.
4) Flexibility to adjust according to market conditions
UOBAM’s proprietary AI-Augmentation capabilities allow the Fund to dynamically allocate across investment factors based on market conditions, to mitigate risks while maximising returns.
In the past 3 years, the Fund had dynamically allocated across the factor profiles as depicted by the light blue shaded areas.
Considering the Size factor as an example, the Fund’s flexibility allowed for a smaller allocation to large cap companies like Alibaba and Tencent that did not perform well after Covid-19, unlike its peers who continued to invest in them.
Source: Morningstar, as of 30 November 2023. United Asia Fund data as of 30 November 2023.
Category: Asia ex Japan Equity, as of 31 October 2023.
5) Award-winning and highly rated
Received the Outstanding Achiever for Asia Pacific ex-Japan Equity at Benchmark Fund of the Year 2023 awards.
The Fund currently holds a Morningstar four-star rating in the category of Asia ex Japan Equity as of 31 December 2023.
Compared to its peers, the Fund delivers higher-than-average returns at an average risk.
| Fund Name | United Asia Fund |
| Investment Objective | To achieve long term capital growth mainly through investing in the securities of corporations in, or corporations listed or traded on stock exchanges in, or corporations which derive a significant proportion of their revenue or profits from or have a significant proportion of their assets in, Asia (excluding Japan). |
| Fund Classes Available9 | Class SGD |
| Subscription Mode9 | Cash & SRS |
| Minimum Subscription9 | S$1,000/US$1,000 (initial); S$500/US$500 (subsequent) |
| Subscription Fee9 | Currently up to 5%; maximum 5% |
| Management Fee9 | Currently 1.25% p.a., maximum 1.25% p.a. |
| Fund Classification for Retail Investors | Units of the Fund are Excluded Investments Products (EIP) |
| Dealing Frequency & Deadline10 | Generally every business day, on a forward pricing basis up till 3pm (Singapore time) |
1 Visual Capitalist, Ranked: The Top Economies in the World (1980 2075), July 2023.
2 Futures Platform, How Asia’s growing middle class is reshaping global consumption, September 2023. Middle class is defined as households with per capita incomes between US$11 and US$110 per person per day in 2011 Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) terms.
3 Google, e-Conomy SEA 2023 report, November 2023.
4 McKinsey & Company, Green Growth: Capturing Asia’s $5 trillion green business opportunity, September 2022.
5 Source: UOBAM, Factset , as of December 2023.
6 ASEAN-5 comprises Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand.
7 Emerging Asia comprises China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam.
8 Source: MSCI, as of 31 December 2023. Asia countries represent 7.05% of the MSCI World Index, and 14.56% of the MSCI All Country World Index.
9 Investors should refer to the Fund’s prospectus for more details on the different classes available. Please check with our distributors on the availability of the Fund classes.
10 Please check with the distributor(s) or refer to the Fund’s prospectus for more details.
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MSCI Data are exclusive property of MSCI. MSCI Data are provided “as is”, MSCI bears no liability for or in connection with MSCI Data. Please see complete MSCI disclaimer here.
This document is for general information only. It does not constitute an offer or solicitation to deal in units in the Fund ( (“Units”) or investment advice or recommendation and was prepared without regard to the specific objectives, financial situation or needs of any particular person who may receive it. The information is based on certain assumptions, information and conditions available as at the date of this document and may be subject to change at any time without notice. No representation or promise as to the performance of the Fund or the return on your inves tment is made. Past performance of the Fund or UOB Asset Management Ltd (“UOBAM”) and any past performance, prediction, projection or forecast of the economic trends or securities market are not necessarily indicative of the future or likely performance of the Fund or UOBAM. The value of Units and the income from them, if any, may fall as well as rise, and is likely to have high volatility due to the investment policies and/or portfolio management techniques employed by the Fund. Investments in Units involve risks, including the possible loss of the principal amount invested, and are not obligations of, deposits in, or guaranteed or insured by United Overseas Bank Limited (“UOB”), UOBAM, or any of their subsidiary, associate or affiliate (“UOB Group”) or distributors of the Fund. The Fund may use or invest in financial derivative instruments and you should be aware of the risks associated with investments in financial derivative instruments which are described in the Fund’ s prospectus. The UOB Group may have interests in the Units and may also perform or seek to perform brokering and other investment or securities related services for the Fund. Investors should read the Fund’s prospectus, which is available and may be obtained from UOBAM or any of its appointed agents or distributors, before investing. You may wish to seek advice from a financial adviser before making a commitment to invest in any Units, and in the event that you choose not to do so, you should consider carefully whether the Fund is suitable for you. Applications for Units must be made on the application forms accompanying the Fund’s prospectus.
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