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Investment trusts make up around a third of the FTSE 250, giving investors dozens of different wealth-building opportunities.
Vietnam Enterprise Investments Limited (LSE:VEIL) is certainly different. As the name suggests, it focuses on investments in the rapidly-growing economy of Vietnam in Southeast Asia.
While this single-country focus makes it very niche, Vietnam Enterprise has delivered solid performance. It has generated annualised returns of around 11% since listing in 2016, including a 30% jump in the past 12 months.
Looking forward to the next few years, I reckon it could continue compounding returns for shareholders. Here’s why.
Why Vietnam?
Vietnam’s economy has been growing very strongly for many years now, driven by rapid economic development and modernisation. But in Q3 2025, it grew by 8.23%, the fastest quarterly pace in over a decade (excluding the post-Covid rebound).
This established Vietnam as the fastest-growing economy in Southeast Asia for the period. And full-year growth is projected to be around 8%, which is remarkable considering all the uncertainty and disruption caused by President Trump’s tariffs.
That said, the IMF projects growth slowing to around 6% to 6.5% next year due to US tariffs. Still, that’s very strong, making Vietnam an attractive investment proposition, in my opinion.
Also, in October 2025, FTSE Russell officially reclassified Vietnam as a ‘Secondary Emerging Market’. It will be officially added to the FTSE Emerging Index next year, ending Vietnam’s status as a frontier market.
Over the next few years then, this should see a significant amount of capital flow into the Vietnamese stock market. The trust says achieving emerging market status places Vietnam “firmly on the global stage, giving it access to larger institutional investors“.
Why this trust?
The trust manages a portfolio of around 48 Vietnamese stocks worth roughly £1.45bn. It pursues a ‘barbell’ strategy of “concentrating on high-conviction blue chips while incubating smaller growth names…that capture emerging opportunities in Vietnam’s economy”.
The blue chips include banks and property firms while the growth businesses are ones the managers believe could become tomorrow’s domestic market leaders (pharmaceutical firms and brokerages, for example).
Despite the strong 12-month performance, the stock still trades at a 13% discount to its net asset value (NAV). However, the gap has been narrowing, suggesting increasing investor confidence in the trust’s prospects.
Top 5 holdings:
| Sector | Weighting | |
|---|---|---|
| Mobile World Investment Corp | Consumer electronics | 7.2% |
| Vinhomes JSC | Real estate | 6.6% |
| Vietnam Technological and Commercial Joint Stock Bank | Banking | 6.3% |
| FPT Corp | Technology | 5.1% |
| Viet Nam Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Industry and Trade | Banking | 4.9% |
Risks to bear in mind
One risk I see here is that the portfolio is heavily exposed to Vietnamese real estate and banks. While these sectors should naturally continue to benefit from the booming economy, they also might run into trouble at some point (as happened with China’s property market).
Also, the fund’s holdings are priced in Vietnamese dong but its portfolio is valued and reported in US dollars (and UK investors will buy shares in pounds). So currency fluctuations can negatively or positively impact performance.
Vietnam is only getting stronger
We remain optimistic heading into 2026, supported by healthy bank fundamentals, strong housing demand, and Vietnam’s advancing reform and capital-market momentum.
Vietnam Enterprise Investments Limited
On balance though, I view this FTSE 250 trust as an excellent way to consider getting Vietnam exposure.
The country is no longer just doing cheap manufacturing (shoes, garments, etc). It’s increasingly capturing high-value electronics and technology sectors that China is losing due to pricing or trade tensions.
