Funds With the Highest Country Exposure

Want to invest in a specific country? These funds are making the biggest commitments

Sunniva Kolostyak 13 September, 2021 | 10:35AM
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If you want to invest in the big economies, it is very easy to find a fund that will invest in exactly that. US, China – UK small- mid- and large-cap – you have almost an endless list of options. But this gets a little trickier if you want to invest in the booming Vietnamese market, for example - not many equity funds have a specific country focus unless is of a certain size.

But that doesn’t mean you can’t scout out the funds that are the most dedicated to a certain region. So whether you want to up your exposure to Portuguese stocks or are simply interested in figuring out which funds invest where, we’ve got the answers for you.

We have screened our database to find out which UK-domiciled funds have the highest exposure to the different countries under our coverage.

The below map shows which funds have the highest exposure to a certain country, making it easier to figure out where you should put your money if you’re interested in a specific market. The bigger the bubble, the higher the highest exposure is.

At first glance, it’s clear that it is a lot easier to invest fully in the bigger markets. The UK, US, India and Japan all have funds with 100% exposure to their respective regions – and Russia, South Korea, China are not far off.

In fact, five Japan funds have 100% coverage: M&G Japan, shown in the map, LF Ruffer Japanese, Man GLG Japan CoreAlpha Profl, LF Morant Wright Japan and LF Morant Wright Nippon Yield. Two US funds meet the 100% mark: ASI American Equity Tracker and ES AllianceBernstein Conc US Eq.

Meanwhile, only one UK fund has exactly 100%, which is somewhat surprising, but almost 150 funds in total have above 90% exposure. Meaning, a large number of funds either have some smaller investments in fixed income or are holding it in cash.

Country Specific Funds

There are also a few funds on our map that were the only fund dedicated to that specific country. For the German market, Barings German Growth has a 78.3% equity exposure and is the only Germany fund domiciled in the UK. The fund with the second highest is exposure is ASI European Real Estate, which has placed 30.62% of its assets in German shares. Liontrust Russia has a 94.61% exposure while the number two for the country is Invesco Emerging European at 68.55%.  And on the South Korean side, Barings Korea holds 99.63% of assets in Korean stocks, and State Street AUT Asia Pacific Ex-Japan holds 33.04%.

Also noteworthy is Canada – or rather what you’ll be investing in if you want to make a bet on the country. The fund with the highest number of Canadian stocks is WS Charteris Gold and Precious Metals with 77.82%, and only one fund of the top 10 Canada holders is not a gold fund (Thesis Bryth, which holds 55.18% of its assets in stocks from the great white north).

A couple of funds are on top for multiple countries too. If you’re interested in Scandinavia, LF Montanaro European Income has high allocations to both Norway and Sweden (12.63% and 29.69% respectively), and Jupiter Emerging European Opportunities wins in Poland (12.09%), Turkey (6.50%), Hungary (4.74%) and Czech Republic (3.19%).

In Latin America, Steward Investors Latin America comes out on top of several countries: Chile (27.68%), Mexico (27.54%), Peru (4.75%) and Colombia (3.17%). And, VT Halo Global Asian does the best in Vietnam and the Philippines with 9.21% and 9.10% respectively.

The information contained within is for educational and informational purposes ONLY. It is not intended nor should it be considered an invitation or inducement to buy or sell a security or securities noted within nor should it be viewed as a communication intended to persuade or incite you to buy or sell security or securities noted within. Any commentary provided is the opinion of the author and should not be considered a personalised recommendation. The information contained within should not be a person's sole basis for making an investment decision. Please contact your financial professional before making an investment decision.

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Sunniva Kolostyak

Sunniva Kolostyak  is data journalist for Morningstar.co.uk

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