Invesco Asia Trust (IAT) aims to grow capital by investing in Asian equities with a valuation-sensitive approach. Manager Ian Hargreaves focusses on identifying businesses which are cheap relative to their future earnings growth potential, looking across the whole market for new ideas. IAT pays out 2% of NAV each half year as a dividend, based on the valuation at the end of that period. This is paid from income (and from capital where necessary), with the focus of the manager remaining on generating total returns. IAT is typically more exposed to value stocks and sectors than its growth-focussed peers, although it also holds significant positions in technology, e-commerce and classic growth areas. The manager is focussed on looking for companies that are worth more than the market believes, including looking for opportunities in undervalued companies with superior growth prospects, meaning this is by no means a pure ‘value’ approach. IAT has had an exceptional 12 months, building on a longer track record of outperformance, as discussed in the Performance section. While Ian’s shift into cyclicals on valuation grounds has been rewarded, key growth stocks continue to contribute as well. Ian has the ability to use gearing actively to express a view on the market. With index-level valuations above their long-term historical averages, he has taken net gearing down to zero. However, as we discuss in the Portfolio section, he continues to find opportunities at the stock level in both the growth and value sectors. IAT trades on a discount of 9.3%, compared to the AIC Asia Pacific Equity Income sector average of 6.3%, with its discount having recently widened out considerably.