Schroder ISF Asian Convertible Bond. Monthly Newsletter. Market Overview. Historical performance USD. Covering June 2018

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1 Marketing material for professional investors or advisers only Schroder ISF* Asian Convertible Bond Monthly Newsletter Market Overview Performance %** USD EUR CHF June year 3 years (p.a.) 5 years (p.a.) I class -2.92% 6.27% 3.69% 5.43% A class -3.05% 4.65% 2.07% 3.77% BM -2.13% 4.17% 2.93% 4.61% I class -3.20% 3.82% 2.12% 4.43% A class -3.32% 2.24% 0.53% 2.79% BM -2.34% 2.07% 1.59% 3.76% C class -3.26% 2.31% 0.56% 2.86% A class -3.30% 1.75% -0.01% 2.26% BM -2.36% 1.69% 1.11% 3.32% **Euro hedged, CHF hedged and USD A and I share classes shown net of fees, bid to bid. Source: Bloomberg, Schroders as at 30 June Portfolio data sourced from Schroders (unaudited). Benchmark: Thomson Reuters Asia ex Japan Convertible Bond Index (hedged for EUR/CHF). Historical performance USD (%)** Fund (A Acc) Fund (I Acc) Benchmark % 10.9% 7.9% % 2.2% 3.1% % 8.0% 6.8% % 3.1% 2.9% % 5.5% 4.4% ** A and I share classes shown net of fees, bid to bid, USD returns. Source: Bloomberg, Schroders as at 31 March Benchmark: Thomson Reuters Asia ex Japan Convertible Bond Index (USD hedged). Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future results, prices of shares and the income from them may fall as well as rise and investors may not get the amount originally invested. Volatility on global stock markets kept investors on their toes in June. The daily news items varied from US tariffs and potential trade wars, to Italian politics and even more importantly Italian finances, a slow-down in global growth, or indeed a stronger US dollar with potential repercussions on emerging market debt. The upshot was volatility and sudden sometimes even intraday breaks in the market. Also diversification between different regions and indeed within different sub-markets is back. In the US, the IT heavy Nasdaq index has risen a full 10% in the first half of the year. Its more traditional counterpart Dow Jones is even slightly down by -0.7%. A similar picture emerges from Europe where Germany s Dax shows a weak -4.7% for the first six months compared to a gain of 2.8% for the French CAC. Asia generally started well into the year, but China s CSI showed high volatility and a loss of -12% for the first half. This is only partly caused by a strengthening USD, but also by the escalating tariff tensions between China and the US. China s General Administration of Customs have just released data showing exports increased by just 3.8% year on year in June, down from 27.6% in June For the month of June, Asian stock exchanges also showed a more homogeneous picture; the common denominator was fear from the stronger USD combined with potentially lower growth from China. The Hang Seng index finished the month of June with a loss of 5%, China s CSI was down a full 7.7%. Singapore and Korea lost -4.7% and -4% respectively. Japan showed positive performance. The Nikkei reacted positively to the currency move gaining 0.5%. The overall MSCI Asia ex Japan lost 1% in US Dollar terms. Asian convertible bonds as measured by the Thomson Reuters Asia ex Japan convertible index finished the month with a loss of -2.1% in USD terms. Our fund underperformed its benchmark. *Schroder International Selection Fund is referred to as Schroder ISF throughout this document 1

2 Portfolio Overview Marketing material for professional investors or advisers only Over the month of June we have kept our equity risk in the portfolio at around 35% and hence well above its benchmark. The recent set back on Asian stock markets, especially in China and Hong Kong, has clearly had its knock-on effect on the universe for Asian converts. While protection worked well, the overall equity exposure in the market has fallen under 30%. China and Hong Kong based companies continue to make up the vast majority of our holdings. Additionally, in terms of country risk allocation we retain strong overweights in China and Hong Kong. We have also remained with our off benchmark Japanese positions which now account for 3% of the fund. We remain underweight in risk terms to Taiwan and Malaysia. With regard to sector exposure, we remain positive on most sectors such as IT, industrials, consumer discretionary as well Outlook and Strategy as materials. We continue to be underweight in real estate, health care, and utilities. The primary market for convertible bonds was active again in June with about $2bn of new paper coming to the market. Amongst others, we participated in Momo and Sea. Both are Asian companies listed via ADRs. Implied volatility, as a typical measure of the price for the conversion right, has come down significantly with the market and now stands at a mere 15%. Asian convertible bonds continue to trade just below their fair value and offer relative value on a global comparison. The fund s running yield continues at around 0.67%. The portfolio s bond floor remains at a very high level of 93% while the overall credit rating of the fund stays on a BBB+ average with a credit spread of 176 basis points. The US administration had moved the focus to trade imbalances between China and the US by initially putting up tariffs on steel and aluminium. Only 2% to 3% of US steel imports actually come from China, but China counts for about 15% of the US aluminium imports. China has now announced to lower import tax on 1500 consumer goods signalling a strong willingness to give in and avoid a potential trade war with the US. Trump s typical negotiating style of arms twisting may have paid off as Chinese tariffs came down for foods, healthcare and textiles by 10% points and kitchen white goods from 20% to 8%. Global economic growth remains robust and this includes the forecasts for Asia. China has announced its official economic growth target for The government will continue with its last year target of around 6.5%. The same continuity is expected from politics where the Chinese parliament broke into applause when plans were officially published to give Premier Xi a lifetime mandate. The 2018 economic growth target looks as achievable as last year when China outgrew most economic forecasts at a rate of 6.9%. Inflation seems under control with the consumer price index targeted around 3%. A reduction is planned for the government budget deficit from 3% to 2.6% altogether resulting in a significant improvement in the debt to GDP ratio after the rapid increase in debt over the past ten years and with that increased economic and financial risks. What could go wrong? First of all, Chinese stock markets cannot escape the global trend. When volatility hits global markets, China is liable to set back with even higher losses. At the same time, the currency market will continue to have a major influence over China. We had already quoted the old economic phrase of our currency but your problem in a previous fund update. The US dollar weakened in the first quarter of 2018 which usually helps emerging markets. Still, the interest rate differential between the USD and euro as well as yen could return strength to the USD. Base housing prices remain very strong with June figures even showing their fastest pace in two years. The official data show increasing house prices in 61 out of the 70 main cities. While property developers remain bullish for 2018 there are renewed bubble fears which could trigger potential buying and selling restrictions. The Housing Ministry certainly knocked sentiment with a new crackdown to stem speculation and what they refer to as irregular practices in the housing market. Recent market volatility has increased which in turn allowed us to differentiate more between winners and losers. It has also created compelling convertible bond profiles in the Asian region. We are constructive on the consumer side of the Chinese economy and recently new issues have provided good opportunities to increase exposure to this sector. Moreover, China s National Development and Reform Commission (NRDC) announced that it will restrict real estate developers from using foreign debt sales for real estate investments a major source of credit in the first half of the year. Asian convertibles have cheapened once more and are now trading below fair value. On top, Asian convertibles are the cheapest region for convertible bonds. They remain underresearched and many convertible bond specialists concentrate on Europe or US issues only. We continue to be of the opinion that convertible bonds offer a compelling balance of risk and reward for investors looking for Asian equity exposure. *Schroder International Selection Fund is referred to as Schroder ISF throughout this document 2

3 Risk Considerations The capital is not guaranteed. Non-investment grade securities will generally pay higher yields than more highly rated securities but will be subject to greater market, credit and default risk. A security issuer may not be able to meet its obligations to make timely payments of interest and principal. This will affect the credit rating of those securities. Investments denominated in a currency other than that of the share-class may not be hedged. The market movements between those currencies will impact the share-class. The value of the fund may go down if interest rate rise and vice versa. It may be difficult to sell quickly positions of one or more companies to meet redemption requests upon demand in extreme market conditions. Emerging markets will generally be subject to greater political, legal, counterparty and operational risk. Emerging equity markets may be more volatile than equity markets of well established economies. Investments into foreign currencies entail exchange risks. Investment in bonds and other debt instruments including related derivatives is subject to interest rate risk. 3

4 Fund Data*** 30 June 2018 Team Portfolio managers Dr. Peter Reinmuth Chris Richards, CFA Region Allocation Portfolio Index Australia 3.20% 0.00% China 56.07% 59.05% Hong Kong 15.46% 10.34% Size & Holdings Fund size in base currency (USD) 107m Number of issues 47 India 0.70% 0.00% Japan 3.22% 0.00% Malaysia 1.47% 4.80% Philippines 2.56% 1.49% Portfolio Statistics**** Equity Sensitivity 35.45% Delta 0.44 Bond Floor 92.81% Yield 0.67% Singapore 4.48% 6.77% South Korea 4.88% 5.34% Taiwan 3.61% 8.27% Thailand 5.03% 3.95% Cash -0.68% 0.00% Effective duration Average Rating Credit Spread 1.53 years BBB+ 176 bps n Allocation Portfolio Index Sector Allocation Portfolio Index Consumer Discretionary 13.40% 10.68% ***Source: Schroders 30 June Please note that the sector and country split follows the underlying equity rather than the issuer. ****Average credit quality is based on official ratings where available and implied ratings. Yield is estimated on a running yield basis. Consumer Staples 1.76% 1.81% Energy 3.61% 2.68% Financials 20.88% 15.38% Health Care 5.78% 5.85% Industrials 13.94% 11.41% Information Technology 14.36% 11.90% Materials 7.84% 5.00% Real Estate 19.11% 30.95% Telecommunication Services 0.00% 0.00% Utilities 0.00% 4.34% Cash -0.68% 0.00% 4

5 Credit Rating Equity Sensitivity AAA AA 1.47% 2.34% 0-20% 25.87% 48.05% A 33.26% 36.79% 20-40% 18.22% 27.76% BBB BB B 8.41% 6.75% 23.51% 19.77% 33.36% 34.35% 40-60% 60-80% 21.93% 10.37% 9.46% 34.53% CCC and below % 1.47% 2.34% Thomson Reuters Convertible Bond Asia ex Japan Source: Schroders as at 30/06//2018. Thomson Reuters Convertible Bond Asia ex Japan Top Ten Issues Holding Portfolio Sector 1 China Evergrande Group 6.32% Real Estate 2 Haier Electronics Group Co Ltd 5.98% Consumer Discretionary 3 China Railway Construction Corp Ltd 5.88% Industrials 4 Haitong International Securities Group Ltd 4.61% Financials 5 China Construction Bank Corp 4.52% Financials 6 CRRC 0.000% 05-Feb % Real Estate 7 Country Garden Holdings Co Ltd 4.19% Consumer Discretionary 8 Zhongsheng Group Holdings Ltd 3.73% Energy 9 Kunlun Energy Co Ltd 3.61% Information Technology 10 Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp 3.50% Materials Source: Schroders as at 30/06/2018. Important information This document does not constitute an offer to anyone, or a solicitation by anyone, to subscribe for shares of Schroder International Selection Fund (the Company ). Nothing in this document should be construed as advice and is therefore not a recommendation to buy or sell shares. Subscriptions for shares of the Company can only be made on the basis of its latest Key Investor Information Document and prospectus, together with the latest audited annual report (and subsequent unaudited semi-annual report, if published), copies of which can be obtained, free of charge, from Schroder Investment Management (Europe) S.A. An investment in the Company entails risks, which are fully described in the prospectus. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future results, prices of shares and the income from them may fall as well as rise and investors may not get the amount originally invested. Schroders has expressed its own views and opinions in this document and these may change. This document is issued by Schroder Investment Management Ltd., 31, Gresham Street, EC2V 7QA, who is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. For your security, communications may be taped or monitored. Third party data is owned or licensed by the data provider and may not be reproduced or extracted and used for any other purpose without the data provider's consent. Third party data is provided without any warranties of any kind. The data provider and issuer of the document shall have no liability in connection with the third party data. The Prospectus and/or contains additional disclaimers which apply to the third party data. 5