JPMorgan AM launches Global Consumer Trends fund

JPMorgan Asset Management is today launching a Global Consumer Trends fund to take advantage of constantly evolving trends in what people buy and how they live.

The fund will give UK investors access to long term global themes including ageing populations, migrating workforces and developing buying patterns in the East and the West.

Three main themes will be at work in the portfolio. These are demographics such as changes in ageing population and social strata, health and well being around the world and the rising demand for luxury goods and lifestyles, especially from Asia.

The emphasis given to each of these themes will change within the portfolio, which at launch will focus on demographics and healthcare. However, if the markets pick up, the portion of the fund set to benefit from aspiring consumers could be increased.

Companies set to capitalise on these themes include agriculture and healthcare names which will benefit from ageing populations’ demand to be looked after and changing diet needs. The increase in the number of young people in Africa wanting mobile technology will also provide opportunities.

Meanwhile, the need for education, healthcare and infrastructure for workforces based in emerging markets will create openings. In Western Europe, companies in the leisure and tourism and cosmetic surgery spaces are also set to prosper.

JPMorgan AM’s new fund, its first thematic launch, will invest in between 40-100 stocks across market caps and global regions. It will be based in the IMA Global Growth sector, against which performance will be judged, but the fund has no benchmark.

The fund will be run by Peter Kirkman who was CIO of JPMorgan AM’s Japan equities team until he moved to New York last year. While he was in Japan he witnessed the impact of Japan’s ageing population on companies. He was also able to see where the global demand was coming from for Japan’s exports. Kirkman will benefit from the research of 260 JPMorgan AM investment professionals across the world.

Burcu Ugurtas will be Kirkman’s second on the fund. She was a global sector analyst specialising in consumer staples for JPMorgan AM’s global equity team.

Commenting on the launch, Jasper Berens, JPMorgan AM head of UK retail sales, says: “We believe this fund is unique as although many managers are playing consumer trends in their portfolios and they are dominating a lot of investment around the world, we are giving investors the opportunity to invest directly into these themes.”

The charges on the fund are 4.25pc initial and 1.5pc AMC. Commission is 3pc and 0.5pc and the minimum investment is £1000. A Luxembourg-domiciled SICAV version of the fund will be launched on April 21.