Three funds that dare to be different

Funds focused on a specific theme, or that hold a concentrated portfolio of securities, can be highly volatile. Even so, a handful of such funds are among the best performers in their categories. Here are three funds Personal Wealth has flagged over the last few months that have built their performance by ignoring their benchmarks and simply identifying and investing in good companies:

Unearthing small-cap gems: PineBridge Japan Small Cap Equity
In the large universe of Japan stocks, globally renowned large caps like Honda Motor Co and Toyota Motor Corp are more familiar to investors than the small-cap companies. The latter are typically domestic-focused, making them more insulated from global macros and a stronger yen that hurts the large exporters.

Adventurous investors looking for Japan small-cap exposure can consider the $187 million PineBridge Japan Small Cap Equity fund. Managed by Midori Katsumi and Noriko Umino, the PineBridge Japan Small Cap Equity fund is a top-quartile performer over five years with annual returns of 18.4% in Singapore dollar terms. This beats the MSCI Japan Small Cap Index, which is up 12%. And, compared with the 30 or so Japan equity funds sold locally, the PineBridge Japan Small Cap Equity fund comes out second best.

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