From: David Stern <
To: Jeffrey Epstein <jecvacation@gmail.com>
Subject: FT: Bolton's China move surprises colleagues
Date: Fri, 27 Nov 2009 12:25:04 +0000
I nline-Images: 99227d56-dble- I lde-9023-00144feabdc0.jpg
Bolton's China move surprises colleagues
By Sundeep Tucker in Hong Kong
Published: November 26 2009 18:34 I Last updated: November 26 2009 18:34
Anthony Bolton, the onetime star stock picker at Fidelity International, made his name as a
contrarian investor during 28 years in charge of the group's flagship special situations fund.
But few of his followers would have gambled on Mr Bolton, who turns 60 in March. tearing up
advanced retirement plans in favour of picking Chinese equities.
Sometime before next March, the Fidelity president of investments will shift from the UK for a
new life in Hong Kong, to run a new China-focused fund.
The decision, made last month during a lengthy tour of fast-developing China, surprised even the
closest colleagues.
We all thought he was going to retire next month." said one on Thursday. the had an epiphany."
The bold move speaks to Mr Bolton's restless intellect and his excitement towards investment
opportunities he sees across China.
0 Daniel Lynch/F, The Chinese economy. he believes, will for some time outperform those in the west, including the
UK, which are saddled with debt-laden government deficits, cautious lenders and wary
consumers.
-The sheer scale of what is happening in China is so different to other countries,' Mr Bolton says.
China's growth trajectory was bolstered by the certainty of central planning, he said, which made it a relatively better investment
destination compared with the fast-growing regional democracies including India and Indonesia.
Many industry participants wonder, however, whether he can replicate his previous success — he neither speaks Chinese nor has lived
in the region. But Mr Bolton appears undaunted by the challenge.
1 am a terrible linguist but, I hope, a reasonable investor," Mr Bolton says, with understatement. 1 am not a China expert but will look
at China with a global perspective."
Fidelity has an established office in Hong Kong. where Mr Bolton will work alongside the China team Musical mind
of three portfolio managers, five research analysts and three equity traders.
When Anthony Bolton retired
from hands-on fund
Mr Bolton says that investors in his China fund would benefit from his experiences learned from management he embraced a
backing European companies over the past 30 years in sectors such as consumer services and long-held love of music
franchises. composition - and has just
released a CD of his work. My
Fund management rivals will be keen to learn where the investment money will come from and what Beloved, writes Emlllya
Mychasuk.
will be Mr Bolton's sector allocation strategy. Will the fundraising focus on UK-based investors or
solicit money from Hong Kong retail investors — a group ever-hungry for exposure to well-known He was inspired by the head
of music at Chatterhouse. his
Chinese stocks? sons' school, to return to a
passion to which he had no
Fidelity is yet to decide on these key questions — which will determine the strategy of the fund - and time to devote since starting in
aims to unveil technical details nearer the March launch. the City at 29. as a Cambridge
engineering graduate.
The mutual fund group already runs three China funds, managing S4.5bn (£2.7bn) in assets, and Mr After lessons once a fortnight,
Bolton believes that his fund will add to the group's offering. he wrote an anthem played at
his daughter's wedding, as
well as a wind quintet and
-My fund will broadly be more aggressive and take bigger active bets than our existing China funds,' carols played at St Martin-in-
he says. 'It will be run by me in my style." the-Fields. As he moves to
EFTA00769363
He will, though, rely on Fidelity's Hong Kong research capability and share ideas with other portfolio Hong Kong from Sussex
managers. where he and wife Sarah live -
their three children have left
home - he will keep writing
He expects to manage the fund for at least two years before deciding whether to slow down once music. The night before last he
again. hosted a performance of his
work at St John's Cathedral in
Mr Bolton says that his preference for privately owned Chinese companies over state-owned Hong Kong.
enterprises was slowly changing, as most recent scandals had involved non-state companies, while
government-backed companies had access to the best deals.
He will indulge in Chinese initial public offerings and is agnostic about their listing location, be it the US, Europe, Hong Kong or China.
He says he had been investing in China, for Fidelity and personally, since 2005 and made regular visits to meet mainland companies —
including 14 on his most recent visit.
His move may prompt western rivals to increase their exposure to the region. "A typical British investor has about 15 per cent of his
portfolio invested in emerging markets now and the rest in the developed world. But that will change in the next few years." he says.
In the meantime, Mr Bolton appears energised by his decision. "It means less time in our Caribbean holiday home and less time for my
hobby of composing music. But Hong Kong/China is the place to be now and for the next few years.'
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