J.P. Morgan launches EM multi-asset fund

J.P. Morgan Asset Management has launched an emerging markets multi-asset fund, managed by Nadia Grant, that will harness both its equity and fixed income expertise.

The JPM Emerging Markets Multi-Asset fund, a Luxembourg Sicav, has launched with a 50% allocation to bonds and a 50% allocation to equities, but the group says this will evolve over time to encompass its “best thinking” on emerging markets.

The fund's fixed income element, incorporating sovereign issuance, corporate bonds and local currency debt, is managed by Pierre-Yves Bareau and his emerging market debt team.

The equity portion is overseen by Richard Titherington (pictured), CIO for emerging market equities and head of the EM equities team at J.P. Morgan.

Grant, a member of J. P. Morgan's multi-asset team, will allocate between the bond and equity components of the fund, and will also have responsibility for the fund's futures overlay, which will enable it to take shorter-term, tactical bets according to relative valuations and momentum signals based on the economic cycle.

At launch, the largest regional allocations within the portfolio's equity component include a 30% weighting to China, with 13% in South Korea and 9% in Hong Kong. India and Indonesian stocks account for 5% each, with 4% allocated to Brazil. Russia has a 0% weighting, though the fund does have exposure to the region through its futures overlay.