Ameriprise Financial Abney Associates Advisory Team: JPM Fusion Growth
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<strong>Ameriprise</strong> <strong>Financial</strong> <strong>Abney</strong> <strong>Associates</strong><br />
<strong>Advisory</strong> <strong>Team</strong><br />
<strong>JPM</strong> <strong>Fusion</strong> <strong>Growth</strong>: I still believe Japan really is on the mend,<br />
says fund boss<br />
President Barack Obama wasn’t the only person to lend his backing to Japan last week,<br />
after he arrived in the country on the first leg of his Asia tour to show support over a<br />
land dispute with China.<br />
Despite widespread cynicism over the ability of Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe’s<br />
reforms – dubbed Abenomics – to boost the country’s fortunes, there is both political<br />
and investment support for the island nation.<br />
Tony Lanning, manager of <strong>JPM</strong>organ’s <strong>Fusion</strong> range – each product a ‘fund of funds’<br />
investing in other investment vehicles – says he is bullish on Japan despite a<br />
‘challenging start to the year’.<br />
Investing in Japan: Fund manager Tony Lanning has faith and says wage<br />
rises are a signal of a turnaround<br />
He acknowledges that euphoria over Abenomics has faded, regardless of last year’s 45<br />
per cent rise in the Topix index, which reflects share prices on the Tokyo Stock<br />
Exchange.
Abenomics follows a ‘three-arrowed’ plan: to print money, aimed at boosting spending<br />
and weakening the yen to boost exports; to spend on construction; and make reforms<br />
and remove barriers that deter private investment.<br />
Experts are concerned over the effectiveness of the last aim, but Lanning has faith and<br />
says wage rises are a signal of a turnaround.<br />
He adds: ‘We retain conviction that Japan will reap the benefits of reform and are<br />
encouraged by signs affirming this.<br />
‘Wage hikes are seen as key to boosting an economy which has been faced with falling<br />
prices for two decades and the recent round of union wage negotiations saw almost all<br />
companies in the bargaining process agreeing to wage increases, some for the first time<br />
since 2001.’<br />
Support: Barack Obama has given Shinzo Abe his backing<br />
_______________________________________________________<br />
He manages five funds in the <strong>Fusion</strong> range – Income, Conservative, Balanced, <strong>Growth</strong><br />
and <strong>Growth</strong> Plus, with an ascending level of risk. Within <strong>Fusion</strong> <strong>Growth</strong>, he highlights<br />
Polar Capital Japan and GLG Japan CoreAlpha as two funds he likes.<br />
The first has exposure to small and mid-sized companies, while the second focuses on<br />
attractively valued big-cap companies, such as Sony. But a fifth of <strong>Fusion</strong> <strong>Growth</strong> is in<br />
UK equities and a quarter is in US shares. And though the percentage invested in Japan<br />
has risen, it is still only 8 per cent of the fund.
Each <strong>Fusion</strong> fund has so far performed in line with its risk profile, with higher returns<br />
for higher risks. But as they are only a year old, the funds have yet to prove themselves<br />
against rivals.