HEAD-TO-HEAD: JP Morgan versus Matthews Asia

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CONCLUSION

“I really like both of these funds,” said McDermott.

“They have well thought-out processes, country specialists, and all the teams speak many different languages, which is a real bonus in this vast and diverse region,” he said.

JPMorgan Asia Growth Fund has many strengths, including solid leadership, a stable supporting team.

It has a best-in-class five-star rating from Morningstar, whose criteria is based on historical risk-adjusted return, which also assigns it a bronze analyst rating

FE Fundinfo, which bases its assessment on a fund’s three-year history of delivering alpha, minimising relative volatility and producing consistent returns, also awards the fund with a high rating of four crowns (a five crown rating is the highest).

Kwok and Davids have delivered strong returns for investors during their time at the helm, and their continued presence and adherence to the approach suggests that the fund will continue to generate superior performance.

The Matthews Pacific Tiger Fund has a four-star rating from Morningstar, and a silver analyst rating. FE Fundinfo awards the fund a notch lower with just three-crowns.

Matthews Asia Funds Pacific Tiger benefits from a strong management team and a superior process. All of its share classes continue to merit Morningstar Analyst Ratings of Silver.

However, as Morningstar points out, the firm’s Asia ex-Japan equity strategy enjoys a significant personnel advantage over most of its competitors, with Shroff, widely considered a talented Asia-investing specialist, and the fund’s comanagers Deng and Song also rated highly.

“The Matthews fund offers a stable and less volatile way to invest in the area and may appeal to a those looking for a core Asia holding; it also has slightly more of a mid/small cap tilt,” said McDermott.

“But if you are looking for out-and-out growth, you’d be hard pushed to find a better fund than the JP Morgan product,” McDermott concluded.

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