JOHCM's Mehta: Don't blame Bolton for missing accountancy fraud

JO Hambro Capital Management's new Asian fund manager has said high profile fund managers caught out by accountancy fraud by some of China's smaller companies were not to blame as the problems can be so difficult to spot.

Samir Mehta, manager of the recently-launched JOHCM Asia All Cap fund, was referring to US-listed Chinese companies which were subject to fraud accusations earlier this year, hitting the performance of Fidelity's China Special Situations trust, run by Anthony Bolton. "It is something that is very difficult to find out and some of the best investors do get burnt," Mehta said. Bolton admitted his £483m trust had suffered losses due to investments in two companies accused of fraud, and he had liquidated other US-listed Chinese holdings at a loss earlier this year. One of the two firms...