Page 20 - DIY Investor Magazine | Issue 29

DELIVERING A DECADE OF GROWTH FROM JAPANESE EQUITIES
Big in Japan: JFJ’s fund performance in the last decade - J.P. Morgan Investment Trust Team
Nicholas Weindling.
With total assets of well over £1billion1, the JPMorgan Japanese Investment Trust (JFJ) is now the largest investment trust specialising in the country.
The trust has been seeking to provide shareholders with capital growth from a portfolio of investments in Japanese companies since 1927.
Whilst past performance is not a guide to the future, the trust has enjoyed a share price total return of 47%, 140.3% and 309% over three, five and 10 years according to independent
statisticians Morningstar via the Association of Investment Companies (AIC).2 These accomplishments culminated with the trust’s best-ever year in 2020, as it out-performed by 33% and its share price increased by a stunning 60.92%.3
This was fitting reward for the team in a year that marked a decade at the helm for lead JFJ Portfolio Manager, Nicholas Weindling.
Exhibit A: Graph showing quarterly rolling 12-month performance
Quarterly Rolling 12 Months
As of 31/12/2020
Share Price
Nav
Benchmark
2015/2016
11.26%
15.32%
23.00%
2016/2017
34.89%
28.13%
15.23%
2017/2018
-13.59%
-13.07%
-8.67%
2018/2019
23.62%
26.24%
14.21%
2019/2020
60.92%
45.25%
9.14%
Past performance is not a guide to current and future performance. The value of your investments and any income from them may fall as well as rise and you may not get back the full amount you invested. Source: J.P. Morgan Asset Management/Morningstar. Net asset value performance data has been calculated on a NAV to NAV basis, including ongoing charges and any applicable fees, with any income reinvested, in GBP. Benchmark Tokyo Stock Exchange First Section Index (TOPIX) (£)
CHAMPIONING LOCAL KNOWLEDGE FOR INVESTMENT INSIGHTS
So, how has JFJ continued to achieve such feats?
Its diverse, Tokyo-based, team of sector analysts and portfolio managers is now 25-strong.
Their in-depth Japanese market knowhow is backed by J.P. Morgan’s global research resources, which makes a formidable combination.
The team can leverage the firm’s global network of analysts for insight on, for example, competitors in South Korea, end- demand for Japanese products, and opportunities in themes in which Japan lags behind the global curve (which it does in surprising areas such as digital and ecommerce).
‘THE TRUST’S BEST-EVER YEAR IN 2020...ITS SHARE PRICE INCREASED BY A STUNNING 60.92%.3’
DIY Investor Magazine | Jun 2021 20