We have added Jupiter Global Emerging Markets Focus to the service as a Recommended fund.

Fund snapshot

An emerging market equity fund where the overriding driver is the search for quality, defined as businesses that sustain competitive advantages and so protect long-term profits and market share.  Within its sector, the fund features in our 'Larger-Cap, Growth-Biased' category.

Fund description – key points

• The fund is managed by a close-knit team of experienced emerging markets fund managers, Liz Gifford, Salman Siddiqui and Nick Payne, with Mr Payne having overall responsibility.  They worked for Merian Global Investors prior to its acquisition by Jupiter in 2020.
• Philosophically, the team believes that companies with strong economic profits, sustainable competitive advantages and the ability to reinvest returns will lead to value creation for shareholders over the long term.
• The process is bottom up in nature, with the team seeking companies that are in a position to compound their profits over time.  They use screening tools to filter the stock universe and they then look to understand the competitive position of each company, its barriers to entry and future prospects.
• Acknowledging that macro-economic and political factors cannot be ignored when investing in emerging markets, they include tailored country risk premiums within their company modelling.

Characteristics and utility

• The fund is relatively concentrated, usually comprising between 30 and 40 stocks, and the expectation is that stock specific factors will be the most important component of overall portfolio risk.
• There is no deliberate style bias.  Quality is the overriding factor under consideration, and, in practice, the portfolio typically displays a growth tilt. Furthermore, the managers do not attempt to time the market or adjust the portfolio in an overly dynamic way.
• While the team is mindful of risk relative to the index, ultimately, the portfolio is built without benchmark constraints. Therefore, the fund typically has high active share characteristics, expressed mainly through stock specific risk.
• The fund should thrive when the market rewards companies with higher quality characteristics.   By contrast, it is likely to struggle when highly cyclical sectors are in the vanguard, or when low-quality businesses are being re-rated against a backdrop of elevated risk appetite.
• The fund is suitable for long-term investors who like the focus upon quality and are comfortable with a concentrated fund for their emerging and frontier market exposure.

To view our full factsheet, please visit the fund page.