Striking a chord with high finance in the East

British fund manager sees scope for high profits in China in future years

The Ancient Greek philosopher Pythagoras was the first person to aver that possessing an ability with mathematics was linked with a corresponding natural affinity with music. Today, one of the UK's best known fund managers and successful investors, Anthony Bolton, is a living embodiment of that belief.

Bolton, 59, who managed the UK's Fidelity Special Situations fund from December 1979 to December 2007, is coming out of semi-retirement to manage a China fund for Fidelity from Hong Kong for two years from March. By then he hopes to have finished the eighth and final part of an octet for wind and string instruments that he is composing. As anyone familiar with Chinese knows, the number eight is an appropriate figure for someone who likes to take a punt, given that it sounds like the Chinese word "to generate wealth".