MANAGERS of funds invested in Japan remain cautiously optimistic on the outlook, despite a very disappointing 2007 and the possibility of yet another false dawn, according to Standard's & Poor's fund services.
The Japanese market was the worst performing market in 2007, adversely affecting the performance of Japanese equity funds. The median fund in the S&P Japan mainstream sector returned -10.4pc over the 11 months to the end of November 2007, while its small-and mid-cap counterpart returned -16.1pc. Very few funds delivered a positive return last year. "Given the extent of the underperformance and continued growth in corporate profits, the Japanese market is seen as attractive on fundamentals," said S&P Fund Services' lead analyst, Alison Cratchley. She cited Richard Aston, manager of the S&...
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