Fund managers are getting just a little fidgety over Japan. The country’s two major stocks indices go from strength to strength, setting their new highest points in three decades on a still pretty regular basis.
But some investors who have been in this bet for a while are not exactly quitting while they’re ahead, but taking time for a pause. “I’m falling a little bit out of love with Japan,” said Caroline Shaw, portfolio manager for some multi-asset funds at Fidelity International in London at an event this week.
“That initial flurry of excitement has driven the market up, but it’s a slow burn. I’m not negative about Japan. I have a positive view on it for the first time in my career. But corporates are changing very, very slowly. The pace of change is glacially slow.”