JP Morgan Asset Management has announced that during 2008 its UK institutional business received over USD4.2bn in new assets.
JP Morgan Asset Management has announced that during 2008 its UK institutional business received over USD4.2bn in new assets.
The new business comprised 23 new clients, including three local authorities, and takes the total assets under management for funded business to USD15.4bn.
From a strategy view, JP Morgan Asset Management’s UK Institutional business saw increased activity in funds of hedge funds, doubling the number of new mandates it won from six in 2007 to 12 in 2008.
The total assets awarded for this strategy was USD 473m during the year, taking the total awarded business for this strategy to USD 755m. Other areas of the business which also experienced increased activity include global equity and alternatives such as infrastructure, real estate and private equity.
"During 2008 we spent time communicating with clients to ensure they fully understood what was happening in financial markets,’ says Peter Ball, Head of UK Institutional at JP Morgan Asset Management.
‘Following on from this, we are finding our clients are maintaining core equity strategies, but are increasingly seeking diversification across their portfolio into alternatives, such as fund of hedge funds and infrastructure.
"I expect to see a continuation in this trend during the second half of 2009, where pension funds understand diversification is vital to the long term composition of their funds."
JP Morgan Asset Management had USD1.2trn in assets under management at the end of December and has offices in 40 locations around the world.
