HEAD-TO-HEAD: Fidelity vs JP Morgan

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*All fund NAVs and sector performance have been converted to US dollars.

The chart shows the three-year performance of the funds and their benchmark, according to FE data.

The performance of the Fidelity fund has been in line with that of the benchmark, while the JP Morgan fund has consistently outperformed both the Fidelity fund and the benchmark.

Laidlaw attributes the similarity of returns of the Fidelity fund and the benchmark to the fund managers’ preference for not taking large bets.

The cautious approach has also proven beneficial. “Kwek has actually managed major blow outs reasonably well,” Laidlaw added.

Notably, in 2013, while Asean markets performed poorly, the fund was able to deliver solid returns, even though it did not “stand out” from its peers, he said.

The JP Morgan fund has done well in the past six years, noted Laidlaw. He attributes the fund’s outperformance particularly to its underweighting in Malaysia.

In addition, since Ng is willing to make large bets, she also actively increases cash allocation during times of perceived market pressure. For example, when she was concerned about the region’s broader valuations in 2013, she increased the fund’s allocation in cash and rotated into more defensive large caps, which helped the fund perform well.

The JP Morgan fund has been very consistent in its performance, whether the markets are up or down, Laidlaw added.

Both funds are less volatile than their benchmark index, according to data from FE Analytics. The benchmark’s three-year volatility is 13.20, while the Fidelity and JP Morgan fund’s are 12.85 and 12.44, respectively.

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