About United Asia Fund

 

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

Investors can no longer ignore Asia

Growing presence

Growing presence

By 2050, 4 of the world’s 6 largest economies will be in Asia1

Favourable demographics

Favourable demographics

By 2030, Asia is projected to account for two-thirds of the global middle class population2

Expanding digital economy

Expanding digital economy

Southeast Asia’s digital economy has grown to $263 billion in 2024, a 15% year-on-year increase3

Critical Environmental, Social & Governance (ESG) player:

Critical Environmental, Social & Governance (ESG) player:

Market size for green business in Asia is expected to reach between $4-5 trillion by 20304

1Visual Capitalist, Ranked: The Top Economies in the World (1980 2075), July 2023.
2Futures Platform, How Asia’s growing middle class is reshaping global consumption, September 2023. Middle class is defined ashouseholds with per capita incomes between US$11 and US$110 per person per day in 2011 Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) terms.
3Google, e-Conomy SEA 2024 report, November 2024.
4McKinsey & Company, Green Growth: Capturing Asia's $5 trillion green business opportunity, September 2022.

 

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 most Asian markets are still lower than their 10-year average.5

MSSCI AC Asia ex Japan MSCI Asia ex Japan - 12M Forward P/E

 

Source: UOBAM, Factset, as of December 2024.


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.
Region Real GDP
FY2024
(Projection)
FY2025
(Projection)
Asia 4.6 4.4
ASEAN-56 4.5 4.5
Emerging Asia7 5.4 5.1
North America 2.5 2.1
Europe 1.7 1.7
World 3.2 3.2
Source: International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook, October 2024

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. 8Institutional investors will likely have to increase their Asia holdings in the coming year.

8Source: MSCI, as of 31 December 2024. Asia countries represent 6.21% of the MSCI World Index, and 13.58% of the MSCI All Country World Index.

Why Invest in the United Asia Fund?

Strong long-term outperformance

The Fund has delivered returns above its industry peers over the long term.
In comparison 1 Year 3 Years 5 years
United Asia Fund performance 8.4% -2.5% 4.5%
Peers performance 13.1% -4.0% 1.5%
Outperformance vs peers -4.7% +1.5% +3.0%
Source: Morningstar, as of 31 December 2024 | 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.
Extensive presence in Asia

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.

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.

The power of AI-Augmentation@UOBAM

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 2024.

 

Performance of United Asia Fund vs Benchmark Performance of United Asia Fund vs Benchmark
Flexibility to adjust according to market conditions

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 31 December 2024. United Asia Fund data as of 31 October 2024.


Category: Asia ex Japan Equity, as of 31 October 2024.

Award-winning and highly rated9

9Please refer to uobam.com.sg/awards for the latest list of UOBAM awards.
10Source: Morningstar, as of 31 December 2024. Category: Asia ex-Japan Equity. Rankings are out of 1313 investments.

More Information

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 Available11 Class A SGD Acc, Class A SGD Acc (Ref USD), Class A SGD Dist
Subscription Mode11 Cash & SRS
Minimum Subscription11 S$1,000/US$1,000 (initial); S$500/US$500 (subsequent)
Subscription Fee11 Currently up to 5%; maximum 5%
Management Fee11 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 & Deadline12 Generally every business day, on a forward pricing basis up till 3pm (Singapore time).
Distribution Policy (for Dist class) The Fund aims to make regular quarterly distributions of up to 5% p.a.*

*Distributions are not guaranteed. Distributions may be made out of income, capital gains and/or capital. This relates to the disclosed distribution policy as set out in the Fund’s prospectus.

1Visual Capitalist, Ranked: The Top Economies in the World (1980 2075), July 2023.
2Futures 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.
3Google, e-Conomy SEA 2023 report, November 2024.
4McKinsey & Company, Green Growth: Capturing Asia’s $5 trillion green business opportunity, September 2022.
5Source: UOBAM, Factset, as of December 2024.
6ASEAN-5 comprises Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand.
7Emerging Asia comprises China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam.
8Source: MSCI, as of 31 December 2024. Asia countries represent 6.21% of the MSCI World Index, and 13.58% of the MSCI All Country World Index.
9Please refer to uobam.com.sg/awards for the latest list of UOBAM awards.
10Source: Morningstar, as of 31 December 2024. Category: Asia ex-Japan Equity. Rankings are out of 1313 investments.
11Investors 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.
12Please check with the distributor(s) or refer to the Fund’s prospectus for more details.

Download Fund Brochure

Download Fund Brochure

How to Purchase

For Insitutions or Businesses

Investing for Institutions

Investing for Institutions

or

Investing for Businesses

Investing for Businesses

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.

Distributions will be made in respect of the Distribution Classes of the Fund. Distributions are based on the NAV per unit of the relevant Distribution Class as at the last business day of the calendar month or quarter. The making of distributions is at the absolute discretion of UOBAM and that distributions are not guaranteed. The making of any distribution shall not be taken to imply that further distributions will be made. UOBAM reserves the right to vary the frequency and/or amount of distributions. Distributions from a fund may be made out of income and/or capital gains and (if income and/or capital gains are insufficient) out of capital. Investors should also note that the declaration and/or payment of distributions (whether out of income, capital gains, capital or otherwise) may have the effect of lowering the net asset value (NAV) of the relevant fund. Moreover, distributions out of capital may amount to a reduction of part of your original investment and may result in reduced future returns. Please refer to the Fund's prospectus for more information.

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