7th Aug 2015 13:20
LONDON (Alliance News) - JPMorgan American Investment Trust PLC on Friday said its performance in the first half was was slightly better than that of its benchmark.
The trust said its total return was 0.5% in the six months to the end of June. The S&P 500 Index was up 0.2% in sterling terms in that time, the trust said.
"When reviewing the portfolio's performance, our exposure to small cap growth was the main contributor to performance over the time period as investors searched for more sustainable growth investments. In general terms both stock and sector selection marginally added value for the six month period under review," the investment manager said.
Chairman Sarah Bates said: "It is particularly difficult to be confident about the direction of the US equity market at this stage."
"There is an expectation that interest rates will rise in the second half of the year - although expectations of rising interest rates have turned out not to be well founded over the last few years. It might be reasonable to expect some turbulence as rates rise, as even if equity markets would not on their own be too troubled, the impacts on bond markets might be significant. As we now know, sharp movements in any market tend to reveal a few flaws and tensions among participants in those markets," Bates said in a statement.
"However, the US market is not in very expensive territory, innovation seems to be persistent and inflation seems to be subdued. Our manager (who is quite cautious by nature) is not currently arguing to reduce gearing. It is possible that US growth will strengthen over the rest of the year, and newsflow may surprise investors. The range of opportunities provided by the US market continues to be attractive," Bates added.
JPMorgan American Investment Trust shares were up 0.1% at 281.32 pence on Friday afternoon in London.
By Samuel Agini; [email protected]; @samuelagini
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