HEAD-TO-HEAD: Jupiter versus Nordea

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Darius McDermott, Chelsea Financial Services and Fund Calibre

Introduction

During periods of market volatility, mixed asset funds promise to give investors a smoother ride, typically with income and less drawdown than pure equity funds.

But despite 2019 market volatility, it seems investors have been withdrawing money from mixed-asset funds, with net outflows amounting to $2.4bn globally during the first half this year, according to data from Morningstar.

Instead, capital has shifted into fixed income products, which saw net inflows of $304bn during the same period.

This is true in some Asian markets. In Hong Kong, for example, fixed income products accounted for nearly 70% of the total gross sales of mutual funds sold in the SAR during the first half this year, according to data from the Hong Kong Investment Funds Association.

Mixed-asset products only accounted for 14.9% of mutual fund sales, which compares to 36% in 2018.

Investors in Taiwan have also flocked to fixed income funds this year and withdrew from mixed-asset and alternative products, according to data from Morningstar Direct.

However, some types of mixed-asset products gathered assets. Globally, aggressive multi-asset funds had net inflows of $23bn, while cautious funds had $181 in net inflows this year, according to Morningstar Direct.

In addition, fund managers have continued to launch mixed-asset funds, particularly in Singapore. In the past year, nearly 30 mixed-asset products were launched in the Lion City, including those managed by Aviva Investors, Fullerton Fund Management, Aberdeen Standard Investments, Capital Group, Nikko Asset Management, UTI Mutual Fund and Lion Global Investors.

Against this backdrop, FSA asked Darius McDermott, managing director of Chelsea Financial Services and Fund Calibre, to compare two global multi-asset funds: Jupiter’s Merlin International Balanced Portfolio and the Nordea 1 – Stable Return Fund, which are only available to professional investors in Hong Kong and Singapore.

Source: FE Analytics, Morningstar Direct

* 2 September 2016 – 4 September 2019

** 3 September 2016 – 30 August 2019

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