Milltrust International Group talks to this news service about its recent awards success and the qualities that enabled it to stand out.

Simon Hopkins, chief executive at Milltrust International Group, talks to this news service about its achievements in our WealthBriefingAsia Awards programme. 

What sets you apart from your peers this year and why?
Most funds managers see themselves as all things to all men. Milltrust takes a very different approach to emerging markets. We have structured a single custody arrangement that allows our clients to access some of the most talented regional asset managers from across some of the fastest-growing markets in the world in a framework that ensures safety, transparency and liquidity. 

How have your colleagues contributed towards the success of your organisation?
Our asset allocation team led by Eric Anderson has added about one third of the alpha we have delivered annually whilst the local stock pickers have added two thirds, which goes a long way to illustrating the merits of an active approach. Our focus on sustainability and the low carbon economy of the future has been driven by the tireless work of the Impact team led by Alex Kalis and Henry Soediarko, and of course our friends at WWF.

What are going to do to stay on the front foot in a fast-growing but also challenging region such as this?
We are constantly encouraging our clients to recognise that pursuing our mantra of sustainable prosperity is both financially rewarding as well as morally compelling. Our universe of 80 companies that derive over 50 per cent of their revenues from the low carbon economy have far outstripped the performance of the indices over the past seven years, and our ESG focused GEMs fund has delivered a performance increment of over 300 per cent. 

What challenges have you had to overcome to reach such a standard?
Smaller firms in Asia always face the challenges of “big brand bias.” Yet most of the big boys have delivered disappointing results over the past decade, in line with EM indices which have underperformed the SP 500 dramatically, giving up all the outperformance of the 10 years prior to the GFC. This has led to a refocus on active management and proactive asset allocation which is the hallmark of Milltrust’s activities. 

How has your business and business model reacted to the pandemic? Have you introduced new working practices that will endure?
The pandemic has been a challenge, largely due to travel restrictions which has slowed down our ability to visit the countries in which we invest. But, given our highly localised model, with teams on the ground, in practice we have been largely unimpacted in terms of performance of our duties. Sadly, for many of the people in the countries in which we invest, the global slow down has had a profound impact on their lives, which makes investing into EM more important than ever. 

What are the prospects for wealth management in the future, bearing in mind a new social and economic environment ahead?
Wealth management, unlike fund management, has remained highly fragmented with many private wealth managers and bankers setting up on their own. This has allowed them to pursue a more flexible approach to product and solutions sourcing as well as great freedoms in the way they live their lives. Notwithstanding this trend, COVID has made growing this model highly challenging and left many running sub scale businesses, commonly known as EAMs. I predict that there will be a rapid consolidation in this sector over the next few years.

To whom do you look for inspiration and ideas?
Stonehage Fleming and Quintet are good examples of the roll-up approach.

What do you hope will be the result of receiving this accolade? How does it help your business in this region?
We are delighted to have been selected by our peers and competitors who form the panel of judges at WealthBriefingAsia. It gives us the confidence [to know] that we are doing something right, and is hugely motivating for our team.