The JP Morgan Japan Fund has been removed from the Wealth 150 list of our favourite funds in each sector. The fund has a rather unusual approach with David Mitchinson favouring significant exposure to small and medium sized companies that tend to be under-researched or overlooked by other investors. Whilst this is an interesting and potentially rewarding strategy, these companies can be higher risk and volatile, which is why careful stock picking is crucial. However our analysis suggests his stock picking has been inconsistent and has been a factor in the fund’s longer term underperformance.
We will continue to monitor the fund to see if stock picking improves and in the meantime the fund will not be featured on the Wealth 150, but we do believe existing investors should continue to hold. More recent performance has benefitted from the smaller company positions and this area may do well as a result of new government policies to support the domestic economy. Furthermore, David Mitchinson has been a top performer in the past and we are hopeful of a return to form.
Rob Morgan
Analyst
We will continue to monitor the fund to see if stock picking improves and in the meantime the fund will not be featured on the Wealth 150, but we do believe existing investors should continue to hold. More recent performance has benefitted from the smaller company positions and this area may do well as a result of new government policies to support the domestic economy. Furthermore, David Mitchinson has been a top performer in the past and we are hopeful of a return to form.
Rob Morgan
Analyst
