Bolton on the Contrarian Case for China

While many investors are fleeing Chinese equities, Fidelity’s Anthony Bolton remains bullish.

“People are generally cautious and are taking money out of China which, as a contrarian, I see as positive,” Bolton says, according to Investment Week. Bolton, who compiled an exceptional fund management track record in the U.K. before moving on to a China fund a couple years back, says that local, private Asian investors generally have most of their money in cash on deposit, and little in bonds and equities. “It is this money that will drive the market when the market turns,” he said. “People are not positioned for markets to go up, which is usually when they do go up.”

Bolton says the valuation picture is very good in China. “Valuations are really supportive at the moment — the valuation case for China is as good as I have seen it,” he said, adding that in terms of forward earnings, China is “off the scale,” Investment Week reported. He also thinks inflation will fall below 2% in China this year, meaning that policymakers may well act in ways that bolster equity prices.