Fidelity Japan Trust PLC (LON:FJV) published its monthly factsheet for the period ended February 2024.
Portfolio Manager Commentary
The Trust recorded NAV returns of 8.6% over the 12 months to February 2024, underperforming the reference index, which returned 19.9%. The Trust’s share price rose by 5.0% over the same period and the discount to NAV widened.
While the Japanese market has recorded historical gains, significant style divergences have persisted. The US bond yield cycle and accompanying currency trends have exerted a sizeable impact on style returns, with strong gains in large-cap value stocks contrasting with the far more muted performance of small-cap growth names. These trends have continued to generate performance headwinds, particularly during periods of sharp rises in long-term interest rates. Against this backdrop, the underweight exposure to traditional value areas of the market, primarily automobiles, weighed on relative returns.
