Ashoka WhiteOak Emerging Markets outperforms benchmark in first year of trading

Annual general meeting

Ashoka WhiteOak Emerging Markets trust has posted outperformance against its benchmark for the first year since its IPO in March 2023.

In its annual results published today (18 June), AWEM reported a net asset value total return of 11.8% for the period between its listing on 15 March 2023 and 31 March 2024. This compared to a 7.9% return from its benchmark, the MSCI Emerging Markets index. Chair Martin Shenfield commended the trust's investment manager, Acorn Asset Management, for its bottom-up stock selection approach which has been a "key driver of performance", despite the challenges faced by emerging markets over the period. He explained the approach supported the manager's "overweighting of mid- and small-cap st...