Manager Review
The JPM fund is co-managed by US-based Michael Schoenhaut and Hong Kong-based Leon Goldfield, who are both on the JPM multi-asset solution team. The overall strategy is also supported by specialists who have quaterly meetings to discuss investment opportunities.
“These professionals could be specialised in equities and bonds, as well as REITs, convertibles, preferred equities, non-agency mortgages and emerging markets,” Ng noted.
Goldfield started to manage the fund in May this year, replacing Jonathan Lowe, who had run the fund since its launch.
“I don’t see [the change of management] having a significant impact on the fund,” Ng noted. “The fund has a clear team-approach investment process and is supported by a group of specialists. Meanwhile both fund managers are very experienced.”
Goldfeld previously worked at Amundi, Goldman Sachs Private Wealth Management, and prior to that as CIO at HSBC Global Asset Management (Hong Kong) from 2004 to 2010. He has 29 years of asset management experience.
As for the Pinebridge fund, the fund management involves 20 multi-asset professionals, with Michael Kelly, Jose Aragon, Hani Redha, Paul Mazzacano and Agam Sharma named as the managers of the fund.
Fees
The latest ongoing charges of the JPM fund (USD class) is 1.31%, as of September last year, much lower than that of the Pinebridge fund (Class A), which charges 2.19% as of February this year.
The category average (international mixed assets funds in Hong Kong) has an OCF of 1.99%, Ng noted.
Conclusion
FE gives the JPM fund a four-crown rating and the Pinebridge fund gets three crowns, indicating that the former posted stronger risk-adjusted performance in terms of alpha, volatility and consistency over the last three years, Ng said.
Given the current investment environment, he believes the JPM fund is the better vehicle of the two, “especially when the markets are clouded with numerous uncertainties.
“Despite both JPM and Pinebridge adopting dynamic multi asset strategies, they are different in nature as the former tends to deliver stable yields and returns for investors, at the same time maintaining its volatility at a lower level.”
Investors are also less exposed to currency risk, thanks to the hedging arrangement against US dollar, he added.
“On the other hand, the Pinebridge fund is more growth oriented from a security selection standpoint, and in the past it used to maintain a higher level of equity exposure than the JPM fund.”
It is more well-suited for investors who take a more aggressive stance, or hold a more positive market outlook. In rising market conditions, the Pinebridge fund could outperform the JPM one, he said.
However, the Pinebridge fund will likely be more exposed to currency movements, as non-US dollar-denominated assets are not necessarily required to be hedged against its base currency, Ng noted.
