Mixed-asset products have become among the most sought-after products by high net worth individuals (HNWIs) in Asia, with 67.3% of asset managers surveyed saying it is the most in-demand asset class in the region, according to a recent report published by Boston-based research firm Cerulli Associates.
“Multi-asset allocation strategies are becoming increasingly relevant amid the uncertain economic climate caused by the coronavirus pandemic, because such strategies benefit from a mix of assets with low correlation, which may include alternatives such as hedge funds and real estate,” Cerulli said.
In Hong Kong, investors have poured money into multi-asset funds, with the product category having net inflows of $293.3m during the first four months this year, according to data from the Hong Kong Investment Funds Association.
The inflows toward multi-asset products are slightly higher compared with equity funds ($225.3m), while bond funds had sizable net outflows of $5.9trn during the period, HKIFA data shows.
Against this backdrop, FSA asked Patrick Ge, Hong Kong-based analyst for manager research at Morningstar, to compare two Asia mixed-asset products: the First State Asian Bridge Fund and the JPM Asia Pacific Income Fund.
| First State | JP Morgan | |
| Size | $201.6m | $1.71bn |
| Inception | 2003 | 2001 |
| Manager | Martin Lau, Nigel Foo | Jeffery Roskell, Julie Ho, Shaw Yann Ho, Selina Yu, Ruben Lienhard |
| Three-year cumulative return | 16.48% | 0.33% |
| Three-year annualised return | 5.31% | 0.14% |
| Three-year annualised alpha | 2.17 | -3.37 |
| Three-year annualised volatility | 9.16 | 11.15 |
| Morningstar analyst rating | Bronze | Neutral |
| Morningstar star rating | ***** | **** |
| FE Crown fund rating | ***** | *** |
| OCF | 1.48% | 1.79% |
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