Swan rotates Asian portfolio from growth to value

Andrew Swan, manager of the newly launched BlackRock Asia Special Situations fund, has rotated away from growth stocks in the view they are overpriced, turning to value companies instead.

Since the start of last year, share prices in the internet, gaming, and healthcare sectors have enjoyed strong growth, but now they are beginning to look expensive, the manager said. Last year the largest position in the offshore BGF Asian Growth Leaders fund was Chinese internet giant Tencent, while now it is oil and gas firm PetroChina. The new portfolio has some overlap with the holdings in the offshore fund.  “Tencent was trading at 20 times earnings when we bought it last year, but now it is on 40 times,” Swan said. “We have reduced the position now and bought into PetroChina, wh...