Talib Sheikh, manager of funds including JPMorgan Global Macro Opportunities (GB00B4WKYF80), is leaving JP Morgan Asset Management and will join Jupiter Asset Management as head of strategy, multi-asset, in June. Mr Sheikh had worked at JP Morgan since 1998 where he had managed balanced and tactical asset allocation overlay accounts since 2002, before which he was in the derivatives implementation team.
JP Morgan said there will not be changes to the investment process of any of the funds Mr Sheikh worked on. JPMorgan Global Macro Opportunities, a wealth preservation fund which aims to provide positive investment returns over a rolling three year period in all market conditions, will continue to be run by co-managers James Elliot and and Shrenick Shah. Mr Elliott is also chief investment officer of the multi-asset solutions team's international business and worked at JP Morgan since 1995. Mr Shah has been at JP Morgan Asset Management since September 2010 before which he worked in the equity divisions at Deutsche Bank and Credit Suisse.
JPMorgan added that its multi-asset funds are run via a team-based approach with over 80 investment professionals contributing to research, design, portfolio management and delivery. As a result, some analysts do not think Mr Sheikh's departure is likely to be detrimental to JPMorgan Global Macro Opportunities, which we count as one of our IC Top 100 Funds.
"This is a fund we have been supporting and our research team know well," said Jason Hollands, managing director at Tilney Group. "Our alternatives analyst thinks that there is no need for investors to take action at this point given the resources behind the fund. The three portfolio managers have been able to draw on a team of nine macro-analysts within the multi-asset team. Mr Elliott has led on equity related strategies, Mr Shah on foreign exchange and derivatives, and Mr Sheikh on fixed income. But most of the alpha has been generated through macro calls expressed through the equity positions."
Adrian Lowcock, investment director at Architas, added:
"Talib Sheikh was one of three co-managers of JPM Global Macro Opportunities and as such his departure is likely to have minimal impact on the performance. The process the fund uses was put in place in 2012 by James Elliot who remains a co-manager, so the process is not set to change. The managers of the fund are well supported by a strong research team as well as being able to access JP Morgan's multi asset expertise and wider research resources. Targeted absolute return funds with broad strategies such as this benefit from having a team based approach which means they can absorb one or two departures."
However, Randal Goldsmith, analyst at fund research company Morningstar, says:
"Mr Sheikh's main focus on this strategy was fixed income. The fund's managers are supported by a global macro team that includes other fixed income specialists and economists, and also draw ideas from other teams within JP Morgan's business. Currently the portfolio has very little exposure to fixed income strategies, but the investment approach has historically shown active and aggressive re-positioning at times. So we find it prudent to put this strategy under review until we have assessed the full implications of this development on the team dynamic."
A manager leaving a fund is not a reason to immediately sell it, especially if it is team managed, and this fund has largely delivered on its objectives with the exception of 2016. It also has a reasonable ongoing charge of 0.78 per cent and no performance fee, unlike some wealth preservation funds.
However, if you are looking to allocate new money to a wealth preservation fund and don't want to put it into one that is undergoing some change, alternative options include this week's tip, Invesco Perpetual Global Targeted Returns (GB00BJ04HL49). Also see the IC Top 100 Funds for further options.
Annual total returns (%) |
| 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 31/01/2018 | |
| JPMorgan Global Macro Opportunities | 10.28 | 11.75 | -3.16 | 15.98 | 3.75 |
| FTSE All Share index | 1.18 | 0.98 | 16.75 | 13.1 | -1.93 |
| FTSE World index | 11.29 | 4.34 | 29.59 | 13.34 | 0.27 |
| Source: Morningstar |
Other funds on which Mr Sheikh was co-manager include JPM Multi-Asset Income (GB00B4N20S86), which Michael Schoenhaut continues to manage and to which Eric Bernbaum is being added as co-manager. And Mr Elliot and Gareth Witcomb continue to manage JP Morgan Global Macro Balanced (GB00B235HC61).
Mr Sheikh was also to have been co-manager of JPMorgan Multi-Asset Trust (MATE) alongside Katy Thorneycroft and Mr Witcomb. JPMorgan Asset Management is still going ahead with the initial public offering which is scheduled for the end of this month and is targeting in excess of £150m. The trust will be run by Ms Thorneycroft and Mr Witcomb supported by the multi-asset solutions team.
One of the reasons for the launch of this trust is to provide a rollover option for shareholders in JPMorgan Income & Capital Trust (JPI) which is due to wind up at the end of this month. JPMorgan Income & Capital shareholders taking this option equate to a rollover of about £81m, and new investors have until 26 February to subscribe for shares.
