Polar Capital sees asset growth despite China slowdown

In its half year report, the FTSE 250-listed investment firm showed total unaudited return for the six months to 31 October of £11.63m. That was down markedly on £117.54m at the same time last year.

Net assets were up, however, to £799.72m (from £719.84m last year).

"Our total return performance came in ahead of our benchmark, with the net asset value per share rising 0.8% during the first half versus a 1.0% decline for the sterling adjusted benchmark", said Polar Capital investment manager Ben Rogoff.

Polar Capital reported Amazon as being the most significant contributor to the asset growth, advancing 46% during the period.

The firm said other internet holdings such as Alphabet (formerly Google) and Facebook played a supporting role to Seattle's golden child of e-commerce, with the gaming sector also lending a hand.

"Companies such as Activision, Electronic Arts and Ubisoft all delivered strong absolute and relative performance aided by next-generation console adoption and an increasing mix of margin-rich digital content", Rogoff added.

Polar Capital remained bullish about its prospects going forward, although China remained a sore spot given the summer crash and continued slow growth.

"If China holds together, 2016 should see EM growth reaccelerate, driven by India and "partial normalization" of a number of commodity-sensitive economies in distress this year", Rogoff said.