The team manages a range of Asia Pacific equity strategies on behalf of institutional and wholesale clients globally, with offices in Hong Kong, Singapore and Edinburgh.
The history of the team traces its roots back to Stewart Ivory & Company Limited, which was formed in 1985 by the merger of Stewart Fund Managers Limited and Ivory & Co. Stewart Fund Managers can trace its history to the establishment of The Scottish American Investment Company plc, Edinburgh’s oldest investment trust, in 1873.
In its more recent form, the team formed when Angus Tulloch joined Stewart Ivory & Company in 1988 to establish an Asia Pacific and Global Emerging Markets capability. Stewart Ivory & Company was subsequently bought by the Commonwealth Bank of Australia in 2000. The investment team effectively operates as an autonomous investment management team within First Sentier Investors.
After years of organic growth, increasing both funds under management and team members, the team split into two in July 2015: one primarily based in Edinburgh (Stewart Investors) and the other primarily based in Hong Kong (FSSA Investment Managers). The split will allow the two successor teams to develop as smaller, dynamic investment groups, recognising that this has been critical to their success over the last 20 years. There is no change to either team’s investment philosophy.
Within the FSSA Investment Managers team, Vinay Agarwal has been appointed Lead Manager of the Scottish Oriental Smaller Companies Trust plc, Martin Lau is Co-Manager and Scott McNab and Sree Agarwal are the Deputy Managers. They are supported by the wider FSSA Investment Managers team of analysts who help to generate investment ideas for the portfolio.
VINAY AGARWAL, LEAD MANAGER
Vinay Agarwal is a Portfolio Manager at FSSA Investment Managers. Vinay joined the FSSA IM team in July 2011, is based in Singapore, and is a Director of FSSA Investment Managers. With more than 15 years of investment management experience, Vinay is the Lead Manager of the FSSA Indian Subcontinent Fund. He is also responsible for managing a number of Far East Leaders and Indian equity portfolios on behalf of key client segregated accounts. Vinay graduated in 2002 with a management degree with a major in Finance from the Indian Institute of Management Calcutta. He also holds a Bachelor of Commerce (Hons) degree with a major in Accountancy from Calcutta University.
MARTIN LAU, CO-MANAGER
Martin Lau is a Managing Partner of FSSA Investment Managers and the Co-Manager of The Scottish Oriental Smaller Companies Trust. He has been with the team for more than 17 years, starting with the firm as Director, Greater China Equities, in 2002. Martin is the lead manager of a number of First State funds, based in Hong Kong, he has more than 24 years of investment experience and graduated from Cambridge University with a Bachelor of Arts degree and a Master’s degree in Engineering. He is also a CFA charterholder.
SREEVARDHAN AGARWAL
Sreevardhan Agarwal is an Investment Analyst at FSSA Investment Managers. Sree joined FSSA Investment Managers as a graduate from the National University of Singapore with a management degree and a specialisation in Finance in 2014, he provides research support to the portfolio managers, with a focus on Australia, India, and regional smaller companies.