Aberdeen Standard ready to buy Asia stocks on dip regardless of US results

Be it a win by President Donald Trump or Joe Biden, Asia markets are supported by positive fundamentals, Asia equities fund manager said

James Thom at Aberdeen Standard Investments is ready to buy the dip in Asian stocks regardless of who wins the US election.

The mantra for the Asia equities fund manager who helps run a $2.2 billion fund is to take advantage of any sell-offs from the bets placed on the vote outcome, as he focuses on medium-term factors such as the Covid-19 outbreak and Fed­eral Reserve’s monetary policy. Be it a win by President Donald Trump or Joe Biden, Asia markets are supported by positive fundamentals, he said.

“There’s a more domestic Asia-centric story here that’s to a large extent kind of insulated from the outcome of the US presidential election and that’s what we’ve been focused on,” the Singapore-based manager said in an interview Wednesday. “If we do see volatility in markets around the election, which is obviously highly likely, then for us that’s an opportunity to jump in and potentially buy into market weakness.”

Among signs of Asia’s economic recovery, this week’s manufacturing data showed that the region’s factories pushed ahead in October as managers remained upbeat about recovery prospects and local virus outbreaks become less severe. China’s ongoing recovery from the pandemic has been a main driver for the rebound.

While Chinese stocks and the tech sector may take a hit if Trump wins, Thom is keen to add to positions as longer-term factors are still very positive. The fund will also look to buy more A-shares that benefit from domestic consumption. India IT services sector is also an attractive buy-the-dip target on the sector’s structure growth story, he said.