Bolton examines reverse mergers that burnt him

Fidelity's Anthony Bolton has blamed US-listed Chinese firms for the poor performance of his Fidelity China Special Situations trust, on top of a falling market.

The manager was speaking on the BBC's Today programme this morning in a week when he announced he would retire next year, bringing to an end a 30-year career in fund management. Looking back on his tenure on the trust, Bolton said Chinese companies listed on the US markets through the process of reverse merger - where a private company acquires the shell of a private company so it can bypass the usual rules of an IPO - had been "some of the worse companies I have come across". In 2011, the manager of the £740m trust was forced to admit two of his holdings, including Nasdaq-listed Chin...