JPMorgan Global Macro Opportunities Fund (GB00B4WKYF80) has lost a second senior manager with the departure of James Elliot, who is joining Investec Asset Management in July. It follows the departure last year of Talib Sheikh, who joined Jupiter Asset Management, meaning that two of the three managers who devised the fund's strategy have left. Mr Sheikh now runs Jupiter Flexible Income Fund (LU1846715651), which has a similar strategy to JPMorgan Global Macro Opportunities.
JPMorgan Asset Management said that the fund's remaining manager, Shrenick Shah, has taken sole charge and continues to be supported by the same team of analysts.
"Shrenick Shah will continue to follow the same investment process," said a spokesperson at JPMorgan Asset Management. "There is no change to the fund’s investment strategy. Maintaining continuity of the investment process is our top priority, and we are confident in the strength and depth of our team.”
Mr Elliot was also co-manager of JPMorgan Global Macro Fund (GB00B23VZB99) and chief investment officer for the multi-asset solutions team. Mr Shah will become sole manager of this fund and a number of offshore funds Mr Elliott ran, and Rob O’Rahilly, co-head of multi-asset solutions, will take over Mr Elliot’s other responsibilities.
JPMorgan Global Macro Opportunities and JPMorgan Global Macro aim to preserve capital in all market conditions via a combination of macroeconomic forecasting, investing in mainstream assets such as equities and bonds, and using derivatives for capital protection.
JPMorgan Global Macro Opportunities aims to beat cash (Libor) plus 7 per cent every year, over a three-to-five-year period, one of the more ambitious absolute-return fund targets. The fund has beaten its return target in three out of five full calendar years since launch in February 2013. And it has made a cumulative return of 50 per cent since launch, during which time Libor GBP 1m plus 5 per cent has risen 39 per cent.
Peter Toogood, chief investment officer at fund rating agency The Adviser Centre, said it is good that there are no plans to change JPMorgan Global Macro Opportunities' investment strategy. But as Mr Elliot had a key role in developing its strategy Mr Toogood has removed the fund from The Adviser Centre's recommended list.
“Mr Shah is an established member of the team, [but] in the case of JPMorgan Global Macro Opportunities, Mr Elliot’s own views and interpretations have had a significant influence on the fund and the outcomes experienced by investors," he explained. “This fund is differentiated from other funds [in its category] and has been thoughtfully developed by JPMorgan Asset Management's multi-asset team. We are keen to meet with them in the coming months as the changes take effect."
Fatima Khizou, analyst at data company Morningstar, said that Mr Elliot had been instrumental in building these funds' investment processes and is concerned because this is the second senior manager resignation in a short space of time. She has placed JPMorgan Global Macro Fund’s positive rating under review. Morningstar doesn't rate JPMorgan Global Macro Opportunities.
“We have a positive view on Mr Shah and the overall resources available to [these funds'] strategy," said Ms Khizou. "However, we view Mr Elliot’s departure as a significant loss. We will meet with Mr Shah in the coming weeks to better understand how he intends to run the strategy as sole manager.”
Performance
| Fund/Benchmark | 1-year total return (%) | 3-year cumulative total return (%) | 5-year cumulative total return (%) |
| JPMorgan Global Macro Opportunities | -1.32 | 10.5 | 45.57 |
| Libor GBP 1m + 5% | 5.7 | 17.36 | 30.69 |
| Libor GBP Overnight (cash rate) | 0.62 | 1.26 | 2.23 |
Source: FE Analytics as at 09/04/2019
