This is all I have been able to find in Barron's this week:
David Lui, the garrulous Hong Kong native who runs Strong Overseas, Strong International Stock, and Strong Foreign Major Markets, starts out by picking countries, asserting that "country allocation accounts for 70% of total return in international investing." Last year, his country exposures roughly mirrored those in Morgan Stanley's benchmark EAFE index of Europe, Australasia and the Far East. But, he boasts, his stockpicking "smoked and cooked!" In fact, Lui is altogether disheartened with companies that aren't growth issues: "Every time David Lui diversifies into these companies, they underperform or simply tank," grumbles Lui. "I've had it!"
Aggressive? Sure. But Lui scored big last year with Nokia, chipmaker STMicroelectronics, and chip equipment manufacturer ASM Lithography. He bought Japanese banks and securities firms, which were buoyed by mergers and by the Japanese market's newfound robustness. Japan's gains will persist, Lui says, as Japanese individuals return to the market. But he's most bullish on Indian software companies, which notwithstanding their stellar run, are "only in the first or second inning of their rally." Among his favorites: Satyam Infoway, the largest position in Strong Foreign Major Markets, and Infosys. Both also trade on Nasdaq.
|