Schroder Oriental Income Fund (SOI)

SOI is a UK-listed investment company which aims to deliver income and capital growth through investments in dividend-paying companies across the Asia Pacific region, excluding Japan. Lead manager Richard Sennitt, who has over 30 years of experience in Asian markets, has managed the trust since 2020. The fund adopts a bottom-up, fundamentally driven approach supported by a large team of analysts based throughout Asia. In this podcast, Richard explains the strategy, highlighting its emphasis on strong, sustainable dividends over mere high yields; he discusses the company's regional and sector allocation, and the rationale for portfolio weightings towards Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Australia, and away from India and China. He outlines the methodology behind its rigorous bottom-up stock selection, and how the company is responding to geopolitical developments that are affecting Asia. He also discusses a positive shift in dividend culture across Asia, particularly in markets like Korea and Taiwan, and emphasizes the growing opportunity for income investors in the region.