Fantasy fund manager dream team: full backs

As all eyes turn to Brazil for the 20th Fifa World Cup, AsianInvestor has selected its own fantasy fund manager football XI.

We selected our team of 11 to reflect the realities of a football team, with a goalkeeper, four defenders, four midfielders and two strikers. To see our methodology, please click here.

Our performance data was provided independently by Mercer, Morningstar and eVestment. We would like to thank them for their support.

This week we have already revealed our goalkeeper, Cameron Garlick of BlackRock, and our central defensive partnership: Patrick Yeo of Fullerton Fund Management and Joep Huntjens of ING Investment Management.

Both Yeo and Huntjens can be considered slightly controversial choices, Yeo because Fullerton has closed its global bond fund, and Huntjens because of the crippling corporate activity that ING has undergone. But we are confident in their portfolio management capabilities, proved over time.

Now we move on to our full backs, completing the backline of AsianInvestor’s fantasy fund manager team. Both players come from Eastspring Investments, speaking volumes for the firm’s fixed income capabilities.

At left back we have Low Guan-Yi, who runs the Asian local bond fund for Eastspring. The first of two women in our list, Low invests in a portfolio of fixed income securities in various Asian currencies, with 70% government bond holdings.

Her counterpart at right back is Ooi Boon-Peng, who runs a Hong Kong fixed income strategy for Eastspring. The benchmark HSBC Hong Kong Bond Index is extremely difficult to beat, but Eastspring has managed it consistently with a below average tracking error and an information ratio above peers.

AsianInvestor’s select XI is published in full in our June magazine issue, which is available online. Let us know what you think of our project, and perhaps send us your own team/player suggestions, by writing to [email protected].

Here are the write-ups for AsianInvestor’s wing backs. We will reveal our midfield and strikers next week.

2 LEFT BACK
Low Guan-Yi
Eastspring Investments – Asian Local Bond Fund
The first of two women on our list, Low Guan-Yi has stayed bang on the median 1.7% tracking error for the peer universe, thoughtfully deploying this active risk to deliver excess return of one percentage point over index. This translates into a strong information ratio of 0.6 across our four-year period. Low sticks within her risk parameters but delivers, a defensive player to be trusted. Her Asian Local Bond Fund invests in a portfolio of fixed income securities in various Asian currencies. With government bond holdings of 70%, safety is paramount. Low has been managing Asian bonds for Eastspring for seven years. Prior to that she helped to launch and manage an Asian local currency fund at Bank Pictet & Cie Asia, and has also managed Asian local currency and credit portfolios at Fullerton Fund Management and Standard Chartered Bank Singapore. An experienced hand who consistently outperforms, Low offers security in defence, with the ability to add a little risk as she ventures forward. A canny operator.

5 RIGHT BACK
Ooi Boon-Peng
Eastspring Investments – Hong Kong fixed income
Our last defensive slot goes to Ooi Boon-Peng, who should dovetail nicely with colleague Low Guan-Yi. Eastspring has delivered across Asian fixed income over the past four years. Its Hong Kong and Singapore dollar bond strategies top the charts. We plumped for the former because of Hong Kong’s US dollar peg. The biggest risk is the peg unwinding, but that’s not likely anytime soon. The benchmark HSBC Hong Kong Bond Index is difficult to beat. Perhaps Eastspring is holding more US dollar bonds than others, but with a below average tracking error of 0.4, this fund boasts an information ratio way above peers at 3.6. Leading its strategy is fixed income CIO Ooi. It says everything about his performance that he is keeping HSBC veteran Cecilia Chan on the bench. Ooi joined Eastspring in 2007. He oversees global bonds, as well as Hong Kong and Japan bond portfolios. With 26 years’ experience in investment and foreign reserves management, Ooi is an old head with bags of running in his legs.