Invesco Asia Trust - Rallying out of the crisis

Invesco Asia Trust (IAT) has generated an annualised NAV total return of 10.1% over the past 10 years, supported by steady income. The board aims to pay a regular six-monthly dividend equivalent to 2% of NAV. A performance-related conditional tender offer (subject to shareholder approval), announced in August 2020, emphasises the board’s focus on total return. The fund manager, Ian Hargreaves, who has co-managed IAT since 2011 and has been sole manager since 2015, aims to outperform the market over three- to five-year rolling periods, following a bottom-up, contrarian approach, blending growth and value. He targets a double-digit annualised return from each portfolio holding. The manager expects his strategy to work well in the current environment.