Amova, Eastspring target growth in Singapore’s small- and mid-cap stocks

SINGAPORE - Two newly appointed fund managers under the Monetary Authority of Singapore’s Equity Market Development Programme (EQDP) have provided greater insight on how they will deploy the capital allocated to them by the regulator.

Amova Asset Management, formerly Nikko Asset Management, and Eastspring Investments are among the second batch of six fund managers

announced by MAS on Nov 19

to receive a total of $2.85 billion under the EQDP to invest in the Singapore stock market.

The other fund managers are AR Capital, BlackRock, Lion Global Investors and Manulife Investment Management.

This comes after $1.1 billion of the $5 billion programme was previously allocated to three fund managers – Avanda Investment Management, Fullerton Fund Management and JP Morgan Asset Management – in July.

A total of $3.95 billion out of the $5 billion has now been allocated.

Amova is planning to launch two new funds by the first quarter of 2026. One will target a spread of small to large stocks, with a tilt towards small- and mid-cap companies, it said on Nov 25.

The other will focus solely on small- and mid-cap stocks, making Amova the first fund manager to launch such a fund. It is also the first fund manager under the EQDP to launch two products.

More details about the funds will be revealed at a later time as they are currently subject to approval by MAS.

With the new funds, Amova will now be able to offer a “complete suite of slightly differentiated solutions for each shade of investor”, said the fund manager’s head of Asian equity Lai Yeu Huan.

“I don’t think anybody offers a pure-play small- and mid-cap fund in the format that we plan to in the retail market. So we are quite convinced that this is a product that many are interested in, especially those who are interested in sectors that will benefit the most from the EQDP.”

Mr Lai cited technology, data, food innovation, renewable energy and new financial services, which Amova has invested in for the past decade, as key sectors in shaping Singapore’s future.

The fund manager’s investment philosophy will focus on identifying undervalued companies “capable of generating high sustainable returns and undergoing significant positive fundamental change”, he said.

“Our approach is bottom up, leveraging on rigorous fundamental research and local market insight to uncover companies undergoing genuine transformation. It is this disciplined approach that leads us to where we believe the most interesting investment opportunities in Singapore can be found.”

He noted how Sembcorp Industries, one of Amova’s portfolio stocks, successfully transitioned from conventional fossil fuels to green energy over the last few years, leading to the company’s market capitalisation growth from under $3 billion to around $11 billion in just five years.

Mr Kenneth Tang, senior portfolio manager at Amova, said that while banks and real estate investment trusts dominate a large part of Singapore’s market, the real growth is happening in the small- and mid-cap companies as well as new economy sectors that will drive market transformation.

With the two new funds, the fund manager will take advantage of its extensive experience operating in Singapore to invest with a strategy different from its competitors, Mr Tang said.

While some investors think the effort to unlock value in the small- and mid-cap space is a one-off boost and that momentum will fade, over time, they will see that growing this space is a durable effort, he added.

Meanwhile, Eastspring Investments’ EQDP strategy will target income and growth opportunities by investing in local equities, including small- and mid-cap stocks. However, it did not provide a timeline for the launch of its fund.

Its Singapore team also plans to expand research coverage of smaller companies and raise greater awareness of these firms in the market.

Eastspring Investments’ chief investment officer Vis Nayar said on Nov 25 that the fund manager’s greater focus on Singapore comes at a time when investor interest is expected to shift towards Asia in 2026 and away from the US as growth slows.

While Singapore’s equity market has been one of the best-performing globally in 2025, it remains under-invested, making it a good time to double down on allocations here, Mr Nayar said. With strong investment capabilities and a wide regional investor network built over 30 years, the asset manager will also be able to bring its EQDP investment mandate to a broader client base.