Bolton's China Hedge Fund Performance Disappoints

Anthony Bolton, one of the UK's best known and most successful fund managers, said the recent performance at his Fidelity China Special Situations fund had been "disappointing."

Investors watch a display at a stock exchange in Huaian, Jiangsu Province, China.
ChinaFotoPress | Getty Images
Investors watch a display at a stock exchange in Huaian, Jiangsu Province, China.

Industry veteran Bolton, who led Fidelity's flagship Special Situations fund for 28 years before moving to Asia to launch a new fund last year, said a difficult period for Chinese equities had challenged his initial optimism.

"The second half of the period and performance since the period end has been disappointing for investors and me personally," Bolton said in a statement on Tuesday accompanying the fund's maiden annual results.

The fund's net asset value has dropped more than 5 percent since it launched, falling to 93.86 pence per share on June 17 from 99.01 on April 19, 2010 while the benchmark MSCI China Index has remained broadly unchanged during a volatile period for Chinese equities.

Bolton, whose fund has net assets of 683.9 million pounds ($1.11 billion), said he continued to believe world equities were in a bull market and he remains "as convinced as ever by the long-term case for investing in China."

The fund's annual results for the period April 19 2010 to March 31 2011 showed a 5.2 percent increase in net asset value per share, outpacing a 3.3 percent rise in the MSCI China Index. The fund's shares increased by 10 percent.