e-fundresearch.com: Ms. Joohee An, you are the fund manager of the Mirae Asset Asia Great Consumer Equity Fund. When did you take over the responsibility of managing this fund?
Joohee An: Since the fund inception on 7th June, 2011.
e-fundresearch.com: What is the current size of the fund?
Joohee An: US$135mn as of 29 Oct 2013.
e-fundresearch.com: Do you also manage other funds or mandates?
Joohee An:
- SICAV
Mirae Asset Asia Great Consumer Fund
Mirae Asset GEM Great Consumer Equity Fund (Asia portion only)
- Korea-domiciled
Solomon Asia Pacific Consumer Equity
Asia Pacific Consumer Advantage Equity
Pan Asia Consumer Equity
Chindia Consumer Equity
- US-domiciled
Asia Great Consumer Fund
EM Great Consumer (Asia portion only)
e-fundresearch.com: What is the total amount of assets you manage currently?
Joohee An: US$642.43mn (as of 30 September 2013).
e-fundresearch.com: How long have you been in the business as a fund manager?
Joohee An: I've working in finance industry for more than 9 years, 5 years as an investment analyst and 4 years as a fund manager.
e-fundresearch.com: What are the main steps in your investment process and in which area is your competitive edge to add value to investors?
Joohee An: For the consumption theme, which is the main focus in Asia, field research and a bottom up approach are very important. Each country has its own situations and stories, so attractive sectors and stocks can be very different country by country. Therefore on-the-ground research is important and this allows us to generate valuable investment ideas and make double checks on what we hear and read from corporate management meetings or annual reports. We have a strong local presence in Asia (offices in Hong Kong, Seoul, Taipei, Mumbai, Shanghai, Vietnam), which is also very helpful for grasping opportunities in local vicinities.
e-fundresearch.com: Which benchmark is most relevant and how should investors compare the fund vs. benchmarks or peer groups?
Joohee An: We don't believe that any benchmark can properly reflect this huge opportunity (consumption growth) in Asia. Even the consumer index is biased to exporters or out-dated stories. Therefore, we are trying to generate absolute return from investing in high quality names which are growing as leaders in their sectors, rather than being a benchmarking play. We use a broad index (MSCI AC Asia ex Japan USD Gross) but this acts as a reference for clients only.
e-fundresearch.com: Which performance did you achieve for the fund YTD and over the past five calendar years (if applicable) in absolute terms and relative to relevant benchmark or other reference indices?
Joohee An:
Performance |
YTD as of 30 Sep 2013 |
2012 |
|
Mirae Asset Asia Great Consumer Equity Fund |
12.30 |
28.15 |
|
MSCI AC Asia ex Japan USD Gross |
5.61 |
22.70 |
|
Excess Return |
6.69 |
5.45 |
e-fundresearch.com: Thank You!
