Building relationships with companies, actively working together to improve shareholder value.
Our portfolio of 20-30 stocks means we devote ample resources to research and engagement for every investment.
A five year horizon aligns our interests with those of management.
Discovering overlooked and under researched investment opportunities to unlock long term value.
Investing in the Japanese market for over two decades, with a dedicated team in London and Tokyo
Capital Goods | 32.8% |
---|---|
Materials | 20% |
Software and Services | 14.2% |
Commercial and Professional Services | 10.4% |
Foods and Staples Retailing | 5% |
Telecommunication Services | 4.8% |
Automobiles and Components | 4% |
Retailing | 3% |
Health Care Equipment and Services | 2.9% |
Transportation | 2.3% |
Banks | 1.4% |
Media and Entertainment | 0.4% |
AVI Japan Opportunity Trust p.l.c is referred to as ‘AJOT’ throughout the website. AJOT’s investment managers, Asset Value Investors are referred to as ‘AVI’
IMPORTANT INFORMATION
USE OF THIS WEBSITE:
THIS WEBSITE IS NOT INTENDED TO OFFER OR TO PROMOTE THE OFFER OR SALE OF THE SHARES (THE “SHARES”) OF AVI JAPAN OPPORTUNITY TRUST PLC (THE “COMPANY”) IN THE UNITED STATES OR TO ANY “U.S. PERSONS” AS DEFINED IN REGULATION S (“US PERSONS”) UNDER THE US SECURITIES ACT OF 1933, AS AMENDED (THE “SECURITIES ACT”).
THE MATERIALS CONTAINED HEREIN ARE NOT FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION, AND MUST NOT BE MADE AVAILABLE, DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, IN WHOLE OR IN PART, TO US PERSONS OR INTO OR WITHIN THE UNITED STATES, AUSTRALIA, CANADA, JAPAN, SOUTH AFRICA OR IN ANY OTHER JURISDICTION WHERE, OR TO ANY OTHER PERSON TO WHOM, TO DO SO WOULD CONSTITUTE A VIOLATION OF APPLICABLE LAW OR REGULATION.
The contents of this website are communicated by Asset Value Investors Limited (“AVI”), which is authorised and regulated by the UK Financial Conduct Authority, with registered number 01881101 and which has its registered office at 25 Bury Street, London SW1Y 6AL, United Kingdom.
The information contained in this website does not constitute or form a part of any offer to sell or issue, or the solicitation of any offer to purchase, subscribe for or otherwise acquire, any securities in the United States or in any jurisdiction in which, or to any person to whom, such an offer or solicitation would be unlawful.
Nothing in this website is to be taken as investment or tax advice. If you are unclear about any of the information on this website or its suitability for you, you must contact your financial or tax adviser, or an independent financial or tax adviser before making any investment or financial decisions.
The Company has not been and will not be registered under the US Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “Investment Company Act“), and as such holders of the Shares are not and will not be entitled to the benefits of the Investment Company Act. The Shares have not been and will not be registered under the Securities Act, or with any securities regulatory authority of any state or other jurisdiction of the United States, and may not be offered, sold, resold, pledged, delivered, assigned or otherwise transferred, directly or indirectly, into or within the United States or to, or for the account or benefit of, any US Persons. There has been and will be no public offer of the Shares in the United States. The offer and sale of the Shares have not been and will not be registered under the applicable securities laws of Australia, Canada, Japan or South Africa. Potential users of the information contained in this website are requested to inform themselves about and to observe all applicable restrictions.
General risk warning: All investment is subject to risk. The value of the Shares may go down as well as go up. Past performance is no guarantee of future returns and there is no guarantee that the market price of the Shares will fully reflect their underlying net asset value. There is also no guarantee that the Company’s investment objective will be achieved.
The information contained in this website may contain forward-looking statements. Any statement other than a statement of historical fact is a forward-looking statement. Actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied by any forward-looking statement. You should not place undue reliance on any forward-looking statement.
Neither the Company nor AVI undertakes any obligation to update or revise any information in this website, including without limitation, any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, and neither the Company nor AVI will confirm the accuracy or completeness of any information at any given time.
This website may contain links to third party websites. These links are provided for your information and convenience only, and do not amount to a recommendation or endorsement by the Company or AVI of that third party or its website. Neither the Company nor AVI has any control over the content of any third party website and neither the Company nor AVI has verified the accuracy of any content on any third party website. Accordingly, neither the Company nor AVI is liable for the content or availability (or lack of availability) of such third party websites.
This website is provided for your use “as is” without any warranties (whether express or implied) of any kind including, but not limited to, the warranty of non-infringement of third party rights or freedom from computer virus. As a result, neither the Company nor AVI accepts any ongoing obligation or responsibility in respect of any errors, omissions, interruptions or delays in service which may occur. Internet is not a secure medium of communication unless the data being sent is encrypted. Neither the Company nor AVI accepts any responsibility for unauthorised access by a third party or the corruption of data sent to it.
By continuing to use this website, you agree to the exclusion by the Company and AVI, to the extent permitted by applicable law and regulation, of any and all liability for any direct, indirect, punitive, consequential, incidental, special or other damages, or any loss of profits, revenue or data arising out of or relating to your use of and our provision of this website and its content. The Company may change these terms and conditions from time to time and any such changes will be posted on this website. Your access to this website is governed by the version of these terms and conditions then in force.
By clicking “Agree” below, you represent, warrant, undertake and agree that (1) you have read, understood and agree to be bound by the terms and conditions and other information set out herein, (2) you are permitted under applicable laws and regulations to receive the information contained in this website, (3) you are located outside the United States and are not a US Person, and (4) you will not transmit or otherwise send any information contained in this website to any persons in the United States or who are US Persons or to any publications with a general circulation in the United States. If you cannot so represent, warrant, undertake and agree, you must click the button labelled “Decline” or otherwise exit this website.
Manager's Comment - January
Our companies have started to report post-COVID earnings, a hugely important quarter which we hope will prove to the market the quality of our portfolio and continue the V-shaped earnings recovery. So far so good. At the time of writing 13 companies announced results, with 9 seeing not only profits returning to pre-COVID levels but growing.
Alps Logistics was the standout performer, both in terms of contribution and earnings performance. Despite starting the period with a relatively small 2.5% weight, Alps Logistics contributed 55bps to performance, following a +24% share price return. Alps Logistics’ share price benefitted from an upgrade to the 1st section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange and strong results, with YoY sales and profits growing +8% and +44%, following an uptick in electronic part shipments and continued growth in its ecommerce delivery business.
Manager's Comment - December
Despite improving earnings, increasing levels of corporate activity and buoyant markets, small-cap companies in Japan have been largely ignored by stock market investors. For the quarter ending 31st Dec 2020, the MSCI Japan Small Cap Index, in GBP, returned 2.2% while its larger counterpart, MSCI Japan, returned 9.0%. Foreign capital flows into Japan were positive in November and December – a rare occurrence over the past five years. For the time being much of that capital appears to be going into large cap names, although in time, we expect this to broaden out to include smaller companies too. AJOT’s return of 1.0% over the quarter is disappointing considering the very strong earnings recovery reported by portfolio companies, as well as the encouraging backdrop of a recovery in global economic activity.
Manager's Comment - November
By November all the companies in our portfolio had reported quarterly earnings, giving us greater insight into the pace of the recovery. As we commented last month, our companies reported a V shaped bounce in earnings. Although profits for the quarter were down -22% year-on-year, they bounced by +42% compared to the last quarter; based on management’s conservative guidance, profits should be up another +29% by next quarter. Remarkably, this has not been reflected in the share prices of our companies.
Manager's Comment - October
“Corporate governance reform is key in raising the value of Japanese companies.” These were the words of Japan’s new Prime Minister Suga at a policy speech given at the end of October. His speech was laden with mention of reform, including digitalisation, and attacking bureaucratic decision making and the notorious habit of following past precedents.
Manager's Comment - September
At the end of August Japan’s longest serving prime minister, Shinzo Abe, resigned on health grounds. As the driver and key promoter of reforms to improve corporate efficiency, it naturally raises the question – does his resignation mark the end of the policies that have collectively become known as “Abenomics” and within that the so called “third arrow” that focuses on structural reform that has led to a corporate governance revolution in recent years?
Manager's Comment - August
Markets continued their rebound as social restrictions eased. While growth orientated stocks have led the rebound, August saw a slight reversal with the MSCI Japan Small Cap Value index outperforming its Growth counterpart by +2.4%.
Manager's Comment - July
This quarter’s earnings season is likely to be a volatile one, with the quarter to the end of June being the first full quarter reflecting the impact from the Coronavirus outbreak. Our companies have been affected to varying degrees although we expect this quarter to be weak across the board.
Manager's Comment - June
The second quarter of 2020 saw a strong recovery in equity markets, as fears of a prolonged shutdown from the coronavirus outbreak receded. Growth stocks were very much in favour, with investors willing to pay up for companies exposed to accelerating changes in the digital landscape. The MSCI Japan Small Cap Growth Index returned +17%, outpacing the +13% return from the MSCI Japan Small Cap Index and +9% from MSCI Japan Small Cap Value Index. AJOT, with a value bias, returned +13%, in line with the MSCI Japan Small Cap Index.
Manager's Comment - May
Japan appears to have weathered the Coronavirus outbreak. It has dealt with the spread remarkably well and is in a good position to recover more swiftly and sustainably than most countries. Probably the least manipulatable and best metric of a country’s handling of the Virus, is COVID-19-related deaths per capita. At 0.6 deaths per 100,000 of population, Japan ranks favourably (81st in the world) versus the UK and US with figures of 53 and 28 respectively This is more striking given that Japan recorded its first death on 13th Feb, a full 18 days before the US – Japan is further through the pandemic.
Manager's Comment - April
Following the very sharp declines in global equity markets and AJOT’s NAV in March, performance during April has been somewhat brighter with a positive return of +7.2% over the month – ahead of the Benchmark’s return of +4.3%.
We do not yet know what the full extent of COVID-19 will be on the operations of our portfolio companies. Some companies are in businesses that will be more resilient its effects, whilst others will be affected either by virtue of their connectivity to the global manufacturing supply chain, or because they operate in sectors of the economy that will have been impacted by lockdown regulations. Early indications from portfolio companies are that the impact will not be as bad as feared, but we will have to wait for further clarity and detail in order to get a fuller picture.