JPMorgan Funds Taiwan, the local unit of JPMorgan Asset Management, expects gross fund sales to accelerate this year as investor appetite for risks recovers, senior executives said yesterday.
The fund house added NT$80 billion (US$2.65 billion) last year to its assets under management (AUM), up 25 percent from the previous year, although some global funds pulled out of Taiwan and other emerging economies in favor of developed markets.
As of Dec. 31, the firm’s AUM totaled about NT$400 billion, ranking it among the top five in terms of market share, JPMorgan Taiwan managing director Judy Shih (石恬華) told a media briefing.
“We aim to strengthen sales of equity funds this year while developing new products to meet customer needs,” Shih said.
The fund house is also to focus on aggregate bond funds that have gained quick acceptance among Taiwanese investors due the monthly distribution of interest income, JPMorgan Taiwan vice president Alex Chio (邱亮士) said.
Fund sales in Taiwan totaled NT$1.97 trillion last year, up 6.5 percent from a year earlier, Securities Investment Trust and Consulting Association (投信投顧公會) data showed.
The increase came as investors cut their equity fund holdings by 4.89 percent and increased fixed-income product holdings by 24.49 percent, the association said.
JPMorgan Taiwan is developing new products to meet investors’ rising demand for diversified and balanced portfolios, Chio said, after the Financial Supervisory Commission announced plans to introduce more regulatory liberalization this year to invigorate the local capital market.
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