The JPM Emerging Markets Income Fund will be run by Richard Titherington, the chief investment officer for emerging market equities, who will be able to allocate a maximum 20% of the portfolio to emerging market debt. The investment decisions will be taken using Titherington’s equity research team as well as the fixed income research team run by Pierre Yves Bareau.
It will be benchmarked against the MSCI Emerging Markets Net Index with an initial charge of 4.25%, a 1.5% annual management charge and fixed expenses of 0.18%.
Of the ability to expand into fixed income, Mike Parsons, head of UK fund sales, commented: “This will allow the fund manager the flexibility to off-set some of the volatility in equity markets and offer the opportunity to deliver superior risk-adjusted returns.”
He continued: “I have said for a long time that UK investors have too much reliance on UK-centric funds for their income needs and are missing out on more compelling returns from overseas companies.
“Dividend income from UK equities is currently very concentrated. In the first quarter of 2012, 87% of dividends came from just 15 companies, and 58% came from just five companies. As UK interest rates remain at record lows, it is time for investors to start diversifying their income portfolios with exposure to a wider universe of higher yielding stocks that overseas markets can offer.”
