JPM US Equity Income

Despite the naturally lower yielding nature of the US market, it has a long history of dividend payments, an increasing number of companies now paying a dividend and a number of dividend aristocrats – companies that have increased their dividends for 25 consecutive years or more. JPM US Equity Income fund targets an above-average income by investing in a diverse range of established stocks. Manager Clare Hart has a wealth of experience and the help of co-managers Andrew Brandon and David Silberman, along with a huge team of analysts, to filter down the whole US market into a portfolio of 85-110 stocks.

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Our Opinion

This is a core equity income holding investing in the world's largest stock market. The managers keep an astute eye on risk management, with a diverse spread of names to ensure a stable, above-market yield. The strength and depth of the analyst resource, and experience of the managers, means this fund can achieve an income whilst also participating in long-term capital growth.

Fund Managers

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Fund Managers

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David SIlberman, Co-Manager David Silberman, Managing Director at J.P. Morgan Asset Management, is an investor on the JPMorgan Equity Income and Growth & Income Funds within the U.S. Equity Group. He has been with the firm since 1989 and took on his current role in 2019. Before this, David led the Equity Investment Director and Corporate Governance teams globally and was the lead U.S. Equity Investment Director. He also managed equity portfolios for private clients, endowments, and foundations, and worked in the Emerging Markets Derivatives Group. David holds a B.A. in Economics and Political Science from SUNY Binghamton and an M.B.A. from NYU's Stern School of Business.

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Andrew Brandon, Co-Manager Andrew Brandon, Managing Director at J.P. Morgan Asset Management, is a portfolio manager for the JPMorgan Equity Income and U.S. Value Funds within the U.S. Equity Group. He joined the firm in 2000 and became part of the investment team in 2012 as an analyst on the Equity Income and Growth & Income Funds. Before this, Drew was part of the U.S. equity research team covering the financial industry and worked in the JPMorgan Private Bank supporting large-cap equity portfolios. He holds a B.A. in Economics from the University of Virginia, an M.B.A. from the University of Florida, and is a CFA charterholder.

David SIlberman, Co-Manager David Silberman, Managing Director at J.P. Morgan Asset Management, is an investor on the JPMorgan Equity Income and Growth & Income Funds within the U.S. Equity Group. He has been with the firm since 1989 and took on his current role in 2019. Before this, David led the Equity Investment Director and Corporate Governance teams globally and was the lead U.S. Equity Investment Director. He also managed equity portfolios for private clients, endowments, and foundations, and worked in the Emerging Markets Derivatives Group. David holds a B.A. in Economics and Political Science from SUNY Binghamton and an M.B.A. from NYU's Stern School of Business.

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Andrew Brandon, Co-Manager Andrew Brandon, Managing Director at J.P. Morgan Asset Management, is a portfolio manager for the JPMorgan Equity Income and U.S. Value Funds within the U.S. Equity Group. He joined the firm in 2000 and became part of the investment team in 2012 as an analyst on the Equity Income and Growth & Income Funds. Before this, Drew was part of the U.S. equity research team covering the financial industry and worked in the JPMorgan Private Bank supporting large-cap equity portfolios. He holds a B.A. in Economics from the University of Virginia, an M.B.A. from the University of Florida, and is a CFA charterholder.

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Quote from the Fund Manager

Value, for me, is about when, not if. I look at some value stocks, and there are a lot of ifs—if this doesn’t happen, X won’t go bankrupt. If rates stay low, they can deliver and be OK. I try to find the ‘whens’ in the market.

David SIlberman

Co-Manager

Investment process

The managers of JPM US Equity Income will look for undervalued companies that exhibit durable franchises and strong management teams. The process has four stages. The first of these is idea generation and will filter out the companies that do not have the basic investment characteristics the managers look for. They then carry out fundamental analysis to see if there is any investment appetite for the stocks, before undertaking a valuation analysis. The final stage is portfolio construction, which is led by Clare. She will want a minimum of a 2% yield from each company at point of entry and will compile the portfolio with diversification in mind.

Sector positioning will be an outcome of stock selection. The fund does not avoid any sector in particular, but can have a zero weighting if there are no attractive opportunities, and will be naturally underweight cyclical or commodity names, as the dividend is often unreliable from these companies.

Risk

The firm has a dynamic risk approach, applied by both the managers and the compliance team. They will evaluate risk on a relative basis. They use external reports, generated on a daily basis, to ensure they take no unintended bets. JPM US Equity Income fund has a CIO for oversight, who has a set of guidelines to follow. The managers will be subject to quarterly reviews, which will look at the fund's profile versus its objectives.

ESG

ESG - Integrated  

JPM takes an integrated approach to ESG investing, and considers Environmental, Social and Governance as financially material in investment analysis and investment decisions. JPM addresses ESG issues at three different stages of the stock selection process: research, engagement, and portfolio construction.
Research: JPM’s analysts incorporate ESG considerations into their analysis to gauge the sustainability of a business, the quality of management and any potential risks. Such considerations are addressed in their 40-question ESG Checklist, with 12 specific questions on environment, 12 on social and 16 on governance. The primary goal is to identify the key risks and potential opportunities associated with the company. Engagement: JPM believes active engagement with companies, not only to understand how they consider ESG issues but also to try to influence their behaviour and encourage best practice, is key to the investment process. Where social or environmental issues are the subject of a proxy vote, JPM will consider the issues on a case-by-case basis.
Portfolio construction: While JPM does not exclude individual stocks explicitly on social, environmental or ethical criteria, ESG factors could affect the degree of conviction, and impact a stock’s position sizing during portfolio construction.

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