Zurich Life 5 Star 5 Asia Pacific

The 5 ★ 5 Asia Pacific Fund is an actively managed equity fund focused on the Asia Pacific region. It normally holds up to fifty shares across five sectors and may also hold cash or cash equivalents for tactical reasons. The fund aims to use Zurich Life’s sector and stock selection skills to seek growth.

The 5 ★ 5 Asia Pacific Fund has a concentrated portfolio, which means it holds a relatively small number of investments compared with a more diversified fund. That approach is intended to let Zurich Life focus on its strongest stock and sector ideas, but it also increases stock-specific risk. Stock-specific risk means a poor result from one holding can have a bigger impact on the fund.

The 5 ★ 5 Asia Pacific Fund is spread across five sectors: Consumer & Communications, Financials, Healthcare & Personal Products, Resources & Real Estate, and Technology & Industrials. The factsheet also says the sector and stock selection may be changed over time to reflect market conditions. This means the fund’s balance between sectors is not fixed.

The 5 ★ 5 Asia Pacific Fund can be suitable for euro investors, but they should be aware that some of the fund’s assets are outside the eurozone. That creates currency risk, meaning exchange-rate movements can reduce or increase returns when foreign investments are converted back into euros. Any currency hedging, if used, is done into euros.

The main risks highlighted for the 5 ★ 5 Asia Pacific Fund are stock-specific risk and currency risk. Stock-specific risk means one company’s shares can hurt performance more because the fund is concentrated. Currency risk means foreign exchange movements can affect returns for a euro-based investor.