HEAD-TO-HEAD: Fidelity vs JP Morgan

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Manager review

As mentioned earlier, both funds have undergone recent management team changes.

The previous manager for the Fidelity fund, Gillian Kwek decided to retire from the financial industry in May, according to Ng.

Kwek, based in Singapore, managed the fund between May 2006 and March 2008 and again took over the management role in June 2015. In addition, she led a series of regional and single-country strategies within the Asean region.

Instead of looking for a replacement with portfolio management experience, Fidelity appointed an analyst for the role. The new manager, Madeleine Kuang, assumed the role from 1 June and took up full responsibility for five equity products, including an Asean fund and country funds focused on Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand.

Prior to taking over the role, Kuang was a senior investment analyst with 15 years of research experience and spent the last five years focusing on the Asean region.

“Her experience proves that she is familiar with the firm’s process and the Asean investment markets. Her former role should help the team generate wide range of stock-picking ideas.

“So far, there is no big concern over her management,” he added.

During the transition period, other portfolio managers will advise and support Kuang to ensure a smooth handover. The involved managers are Dhananjay Phadnis, Teera Chanpongsang and John Lo.

Kuang’s portfolio management team will remain supported by the firm’s Asia (ex-Japan) equity analysts, which currently amount to around 50. There is a total of nine research analysts dedicated to stocks listed in Asean markets, Ng added.

Turning to the JP Morgan fund, the co-manager Sarinee Sernsukskul quit the firm in early 2017. Ng said the departure of the seasoned manager was a loss for the team, but he believes performance will not be impacted.

“The fund is managed under a stable investment style on a team basis. Within the team, each member takes a supporting role to other single country equity funds,” he explained.

Based in Singapore, the JP Morgan team has six portfolio managers, including the recent addition of Chate Benchavitvilai. There are two other co-managers on the team, Pauline Ng and Isaac Thong.

Ng said the approach has worked well within the Asean-focused equity team, evidenced by the fund’s consistent outperformance versus the benchmark.

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