Schroders' Parbrook: Investors wrongly sold Asian equity ETFs for middle class story

Unlikely to give exposure to rising middle class

Schroders' Robin Parbrook has said investors have been misled into buying Asian equity ETFs to benefit from the rising middle class story, which can really only be accessed through a small number of specific stocks.

Speaking at a Cazenove Capital conference, Parbrook, who is co-manager of the $4.2bn Schroder ISF Asian Total Return fund, said many investors were investing in passive Asian products to benefit from the rise in consumption, but he highlighted the MSCI Asia ex Japan index only has a minimal weighting to these types of stocks. Investment Conundrums: Brewin Dolphin's Guy Foster on the importance of exploring China "People were mis-sold Asian equity [ETFs] on the premise of improving economic growth and rising Asian consumer spending. But the problem is 50% of the index is cyclical stock...