SG Value Partners AG takes over Japan equity fund

SG Value Partners AG, Zurich, is assuming overall responsibility for the former Credit Suisse (Lux) Japan Equity Fund through a fund merger. This fund has been managed by the current SG Value Partners management team since 2010. The fund will now be managed under the same strategy as the SGVP Japan Value Equity Fund.

Over the past 12 months, Japanese equity indices have risen to levels not seen since the end of the bubble in early 1990. Buying activity, fuelled by strong foreign interest, has been particularly pronounced in well-known high-tech, e-commerce, entertainment and other names that are heavily represented in Japanese equity indices. "As dedicated deep value investors, we focus our attention on less obvious and overlooked areas of the market such as industrials, basic materials, consumer goods and utilities," explains CIO, Gregor Trachsel. "This disciplined strategy has enabled the fund to achieve good results. Most importantly, however, we continue to find highly attractive companies in Japan that have been neglected by the market, despite their already strong performance".

The SGVP Japan Value Equity Fund invests primarily in Japanese companies that are trading at a significant discount to their calculated intrinsic value. With the fund, SG Value Partners offers access to a hand-picked portfolio. The composition of the portfolio is exclusive and offers highly marginal overlap to the mainstream Japanese equity indices. As a result, SGVP offers its investors real diversification.