Active & Efficient

Overview

Where does Dragon Capital fit in Vietnam’s investment landscape?

Before exploring the four funds below, here are the basics you should know:

• Founded: 1994
• Co-founder / Chairman: Dominic Scriven
• Assets under management: hundreds of trillions of VND (depending on structure and the managing entities)
• Style: active management, with emphasis on market cycles – valuation – risk management

Dragon Capital has been present since the early days of Vietnam’s capital markets. But what matters most isn’t tenure — it’s product design.

Instead of launching one-off products opportunistically, Dragon Capital built an ecosystem of funds around a consistent philosophy: active management, cycle-aware allocation, and risk management as the centerpiece.

This page isn’t here to market Dragon Capital. It’s here to help you understand the practical role each fund can play in a personal portfolio — when to use it, what it’s meant to do, and what expectations are reasonable.

Investment philosophy

Active doesn’t mean “always beating the index”

Many investors misread “active” as “the fund must outperform the benchmark every year.” In reality, strong active management is not designed to “win every year,” but to survive and compound across market regimes with discipline.

Think of it like long-distance driving:

• When the road is clear, you don’t need to speed just to prove skill.
• When weather turns bad, the priority is staying stable, obeying the rules, and avoiding big mistakes.

For Dragon Capital, “active” shows up in two ways:

1) Adjusting to cycles and valuation.
When markets run hot, an active fund can look less exciting than hugging an index. But when volatility rises or trends reverse, a cautious, flexible approach may reduce drawdowns and preserve the ability to keep investing.

2) Buying with discipline, not buying promises.
The fee you pay isn’t to purchase a guarantee of “higher returns.” It’s to purchase process, discipline, and risk-handling capability when the environment changes.

If you choose an active fund, set expectations properly: there will be periods when it looks worse than the index, but the goal is to stay disciplined and last long enough for compounding to work.

Why multiple funds

Why does Dragon Capital offer multiple funds?

Retail investors often look for “the best fund.” The reality is: no single fund is best for every objective.

Dragon Capital runs multiple funds so each can perform a distinct role in your portfolio. It’s best to see the four funds below as four different “tools”:

• Long-term growth equity fund: the growth engine; accepts volatility for long-horizon upside.
• Balanced / defensive equity fund: still equities, but with tighter discipline and a focus on limiting damage in bad markets.
• Bond / stable income fund: the portfolio foundation; reduces shocks and helps keep a steady rhythm.
• Money market / short-term fund: a place to park idle cash and manage near-term plans.

Viewed this way, the right question isn’t “which fund is better,” but:

Which fund matches which role in my portfolio?

Performance overview

Performance: what to look at, and what to ignore

Performance is necessary information — and also the easiest place to get misled if you read it like a leaderboard.

A practical way to interpret it:

• 1-year: tells you about the recent environment. Useful for “was it sunny or rainy,” not enough to conclude quality.
• 3-year: begins to matter because it typically spans multiple market phases.
• Since inception: valuable if you understand long cycles and the starting point.

What to avoid:

• Comparing funds with different roles (equity vs bond vs money market) and declaring one “better.”
• Looking at performance without matching it to strategy – risk – investment horizon.
• Chasing “top performance this year” and importing the wrong expectation.

Performance only becomes meaningful when you read it alongside the fund’s original purpose and role.

How to read performance

How to read performance the right way

The right reading doesn’t start with a number — it starts with one question: what was this fund designed to do?

You can self-check with three prompts:

1) What is the role in my portfolio?
Growth, balance, stability, or cash management?

2) How long is my time horizon?
If you need money soon, an equity fund can force you to sell at the worst time.
If you’re truly long-term, short-term tools can leave your portfolio without enough engine.

3) How much drawdown can I actually tolerate?
A “good” equity fund can still be the wrong choice if you can’t live with volatility.

Practical rule of thumb:

• Equity funds: judge mainly on discipline across cycles.
• Bond / stability funds: judge on stability and fit to objective.
• Money market / short-term funds: judge on liquidity – fees – near-term fit.

Common mistakes

Common mistakes when choosing a fund

Mistake #1: Choosing based on last year’s return.
This is one of the fastest ways to buy high and sell low.

Mistake #2: Thinking “less volatile” automatically means “less risky.”
The real risk is a mismatch with your objective and time horizon, not just whether the chart moves sharply or smoothly.

Mistake #3: Using the wrong tool for the wrong job.
For example, using a short-term fund for a long-term plan, or expecting a defensive fund to deliver aggressive growth.

Dragon Capital’s funds deliver value when they’re placed in the right position in the bigger picture.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

Common questions about fund investing. Tap a question to view the answer.