Anthony Bolton may be one of the world’s most accomplished investors, but using chopsticks is still a struggle. The man known as “Britain’s Warren Buffett” dips his head low over a steaming bowl of noodles and attempts to slurp them up without splashing broth on his white shirt. Success! A meal the previous day left a couple of greasy spots, so he is being careful. We are in Shanghai, in one of the 700 branches of Ajisen, a Chinese chain of Japanese noodle restaurants that was booming until last summer, when an unfounded food scare sent sales tumbling.
“It’s very tasty,” says Bolton, 62, who normally sticks to sandwiches for lunch. Surrounded by hungry Chinese consumers, Bolton is in his newfound investment heartland. We are on a four-day trip through Shanghai, Tianjin and Beijing, visiting some of his favourite companies. So strong is his faith in the rise of China that Bolton ditched his retirement plans two years ago and moved from London to Hong Kong, to launch a £460m fund that invests in companies like Ajisen. Things have not exactly gone to plan.
Over three decades in the west, Bolton boasted an unparalleled track record. When he moved to China there were great expectations that the guru of British investing would work his magic in the world’s fastest-growing major economy. But since its launch in 2010, his China Special Situations fund has lost 17 per cent of its net asset value and lagged behind its rivals. A few months ago, Bolton was “forced” – in the words of The Daily Telegraph – “to issue a humiliating apology” for his performance. Bolton has become the latest in a long line of westerners to be seduced by the prospect of tapping into the growth of the Middle Kingdom only to get burned in the process. Revelations that he made a string of dud investments in China – including in companies now accused of fraud – have raised questions about whether the man who produced a 147-fold return for investors during 28 years in the UK has lost his touch.