Investment team
The team manages a range of different investment options within Asia Pacific shares 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 start investing in the Asia Pacific and Global Emerging Markets areas. Stewart Ivory & Company was bought by the Commonwealth Bank of Australia in 2000. The investment team operates as an independent 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 allowed the two 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, Sree Agarwal is Co-Manager and Martin Lau is the Deputy Manager. 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 Lead Manager of The Scottish Oriental Smaller Companies Trust plc and is a Director of FSSA Investment Managers. Joining FSSA Investment Managers in 2011, Vinay invests in Regional Asia and the Indian Subcontinent. Vinay graduated in 2002 with a management degree with a major in Finance from the Indian Institute of Management Calcutta, and has more than 20 years of investment experience. He also holds a Bachelor of Commerce (Hons) degree with a major in Accountancy from Calcutta University.
Sreevardhan Agarwal, Co-Manager
Sreevardhan Agarwal is a Co-Manager of The Scottish Oriental Smaller Companies Trust plc and an Investment Analyst at FSSA Investment Managers. Sreevardhan joined FSSA Investment Managers as a graduate in 2014 and provides research support to the portfolio managers, with a focus on the Australia, India and regional smaller companies. Sree has 8 years of investment experience. He graduated from the National University of Singapore with a management degree and specialisation in Finance.
Martin Lau, Deputy Manager
Martin Lau is the Deputy Manager of The Scottish Oriental Smaller Companies Trust plc and the Managing Partner of FSSA Investment Managers. He has been with the team for more than 20 years, starting with the firm as Director, Greater China Equities, in 2002. Martin is the lead manager of a number of First Sentier Investors funds, based in Hong Kong. He has more than 25 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.