Why JP Morgan AM is asset manager of the year
It was no easy task to pick an asset manager of the year. Several houses demonstrated to AsianInvestor how they had expanded their businesses in a variety of manners.
But, ultimately, we thought one house best demonstrated a succession of highs across geographies, clients and products.
JP Morgan Asset Management is one of the region’s bigger international players. It had almost $134 billion in assets under management (AUM) in the region as of the end of 2016.
Despite its huge size, its funds are good performers, with 80% of the AUM in long-term mutual funds ranked in the top-two quartiles of performance over five years. Over 90% of the AUM in its Asia-Pacific equities funds also outperformed their benchmarks over three and five years, respectively.
Perhaps the single highlight of JP Morgan AM's year was the fact it presided over one of the most successful expansions of any existing fund. Its Asia Total Return Bond Fund attracted 90% of the new assets that were placed into the Mutual Recognition of Funds scheme between Hong Kong and China last year. All-told, the fund received Rmb9.1 billion ($1.32 billion) of new assets over the year.
The fund house's employees have ensured plenty of other successful business developments too, such as the establishment of the first asset management wholly foreign-owned enterprise in Shanghai’s free trade zone.
In Southeast Asia it doubled its Singapore AUM in less then two years, while its feeder funds into Thailand picked up $1.4 billion in new assets. In Indonesia it made significant progress as well, getting the first sub-advisory deal with Mandiri Investasi for a shariah-compliant fund.
And the manager made strides with institutional investors too, picking up 50 new mandates, including business from 30 new clients, which brought its institutional business in the region to a record AUM-high. This included $3 billion of new inflows from insurance companies, including ones from Korea and China.
Other notable institutional client mandates that JP Morgan AM received included one from Taiwan’s Bureau of Labor Funds, which appointed it along with two others to oversee a $800 million multi-asset mandate in April. And Chikyoren of Japan appointed JP Morgan AM in July 2016 to help it invest into overseas infrastructure.
For combining fund performance, business development and new client relationships, JP Morgan AM is a worthy asset manager of the year.
This concludes this year's marquee award winner descriptions. For details of previous winners, please look below:
Click here to learn why Citi was named the best asset services provider and best consumer bank.
Click here to discover why UBS was the region's top private bank and JP Morgan offered the leading retail product.
Click here to learn why Hermes EOS was the best ESG Strategy Adviser and why Amundi's business development most impressed.
Click here to see why State Street Global Advisors' exchange-traded funds stood tall and why Zeal Asset Management offered Asia's best hedged strategy.
Click here to find out why Western Asset Management offered the best institutional strategy, and Goldman Sachs Asset Management was the top institutional solutions provider.
Click here to discover why LGT Capital Partners was the leading alternatives manager, and Eastspring Investments was the best Asia asset manager.