Economics & Strategy – Equity Strategy: Third

Despite tumbling from first place to third, Christopher Wood’s three-member crew at CLSA Asia-Pacific Markets in Hong Kong continues to receive glowing reviews from clients. “Their work is more thought provoking and significantly broader than that of others who publish equity strategy,” declares one. Adds a Hong Kong–based money manager: “If you were lost on a remote island and had to read just a single equity strategy piece, Chris Wood’s weekly delivery would definitely be the one.” Way back in the third quarter of 2002, the strategists designed an Asia ex-Japan portfolio for long-only absolute-return investors; since then the basket of stocks has skyrocketed an eye-popping 750 percent — 22.4 percent per year on an annualized basis — compared with the 220 percent advance of MSCI’s All-Country Asia ex-Japan index (11.6 percent annualized) and the 98 percent gain of the S&P 500 index (6.7 percent annualized), Wood reports. The portfolio includes such stocks as Australia’s Newcrest Mining; India’s HDFC Bank; and StarHub, a telecommunications services provider headquartered in Singapore. — Thomas W. Johnson