Aberdeen's 1,400% man in Asia on why his heart is in active funds

Singapore

HUGH Young understands the appeal of passive investing - it's one of the faster-growing offerings at his firm, Aberdeen Asset Management Plc. But that doesn't mean he likes it.

"My heart isn't in it," says Mr Young, who co-founded Aberdeen's Asia business in 1992 and has trounced the region's benchmark index with his flagship equity fund over the past three decades.

The 59-year-old stockpicker's faith in active management shows little signs of wavering despite one of the most challenging periods of his career. Assets in his flagship fund have dropped 67 per cent from their 2013 peak amid a stretch of weak retu…