Witan hands Asia mandate to Matthews Asia

The £1.3bn Witan investment trust, managed by Andrew Bell, has handed an Asia Pacific mandate equivalent to 9% of its portfolio to Matthews Asia.

Witan has made the change to boost the trust's exposure to Japan, taking the Asia Pacific portion of the portfolio up from 6.5% to 9%. Matthews Asia will run a segregated portfolio of £110m, replacing Comgest, which ran a mandate representing 6.5% of the portfolio that focused on Asia Pacific ex-Japan. The new mandate will be run in a similar style to the Matthews Asia Dividend strategy. Bell (pictured) said the manager change will allow the trust to reverse its underweight to Japan. "The appointment of Matthews Asia reflects our belief that Asia's economies have become increasi...