HEAD-TO-HEAD: Aberdeen Standard versus JP Morgan

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Luke Ng, FE Advisory Asia

Introduction

A number of wealth managers have singled out the investment attractions of Japanese equities.

Norman Villamin, Zurich-based chief investment officer for private banking, for example, has said that Japan’s earnings growth is around 50% faster than US and Europe, and Japanese companies also provide an average dividend yield of 2%.

UBS Wealth Management also remains overweight Japan equities relative to Eurozone, according to the firm’s latest CIO report. While both the Eurozone and Japan are geared to the global cycle, Europe has priced in a macro recovery while Japan has not.

However, Luke Ng, Hong Kong-based vice president at FE Advisory Asia, believes that Japan-focused equity funds are not that popular among investors in Asia-Pacific, given that investors would either prefer holding a developed equity-focused or a broader Apac-focused product.

“They are not as popular [as other products], but there are huge opportunities for good stock selection in Japan.

“The market is still under-researched, especially in the small- and mid-cap space. In addition, there are a number of thematic investment opportunities in Japan, such as automation, that investors may be attracted to.”

Against this backdrop, FSA asked Ng to compare two Japan equity funds: the Aberdeen Standard Sicav I Japanese Equity Fund and the JP Morgan Japan (Yen) Fund.

Source: FE Analytics, Morningstar

* 23 September 2016 – 25 September 2019

** 24 September 2016 – 20 September 2019

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