Barings' Ng swaps industrials for Asian banks

Barings' head of Asian equities Colin Ng is rotating his portfolio away from industrials and petro-chemical stocks that took a hit in the summer sell-off, and has been adding to banks.

The £52m Baring Eastern trust fell to the bottom quartile of the Asia Pacific ex Japan sector over the three months to 30 September, losing 20.9% compared to the sector average fall of 18.4%, according to Morningstar. Hong Kong-based Ng said the fund had been in recovery mode in terms of performance since he joined the firm in 2009 but global cyclical stocks took a hit during the market turmoil. "We had a tough time in September but we are catching up in October. Industrials were amongst the worst performers as a substantial portion is export driven and investors anticipated slower de...