Schroder Japan Alpha Plus back on the market

The award winning Schroder Japan Alpha Plus Fund is to be re-opened to investors from July 2007 as positive prospects for Japanese equities continue to unfold.

Available to new investors for the first time since 2004, Schroder Japan Alpha Plus, managed by Nathan Gibbs, has a strong long-term performance record, ranking first out of 43 funds since launch. Over five years the fund ranks in the top quartile returning 40.85% compared to the Japan TSE 1st Section benchmark return of 22.04%. The fund seeks higher returns through a concentrated portfolio of the manager’s best investment ideas. The fund will typically hold between 30-40 stocks.

Nathan Gibbs, Fund Manager, Schroder Japan Alpha Plus Fund, said: “We are optimistic about the prospects for Japanese equities; Japanese business continues to be a significant beneficiary of the increase in global capital expenditure, due to significant competitive advantage in industries such as electronics, machine tools and precision equipment. Japanese companies also stand to benefit from rising personal consumption throughout Asia in areas such as autos and consumer electronics. We are confident that the Fund is well-positioned to capitalise on this unfolding market environment in Japan, and our research continues to generate ideas which we believe offer outstanding investment opportunities.”

Robin Stoakley, Managing Director at Schroders said: “We have always been mindful of the Fund’s practical capacity constraints, and our decision to re-open the fund reflects these considerations. We are now confident that limited new inflows can be accommodated without undermining its performance potential.”

The Schroder Japan Alpha Plus Fund is A rated by Standard & Poor’s. Minimum investment is £1000 or £50 per month and the Annual Management Charge is 1.5 %.