Michael Lindsell, manager of the £455m Lindsell Train Japanese Equity Fund (0438418), described his reaction at the outperformance of the fund last month as ‘flabbergasted’.

The fund rallied 5.9% in yen terms in March while the benchmark Topix index fell 6%, opening up a 12% performance gap.

After a disappointing performance in February, when the fund dropped 12.3% against a 10.3% fall in the Topix and every single holding lost value, March saw a dramatic turnaround.

As fears over an economic slowdown turned to fears over corporate balance sheets, the strong cash generation of Lindsell’s holdings came to the fore. He highlights the performance of stocks such as Kao Corp, Ito En, Taisho Pharmaceutical and Yakult.

‘All sell everyday goods whether food and snacks, household and personal care products or drinks and consumer healthcare products such as tonic drinks and remedies,’ he adds.

Spending on small ticket items has remained steady during the crisis while spending on big ticket items has cratered.

The strong performance in Japan helped bolster the much larger Lindsell Train Global Equity Fund (B644PG0), which according to Morningstar was only down 3.3% last month compared with an average fall of 10.2% for the Investment Association’s global sector

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