Jupiter’s Ben Surtees has taken over management of the firm’s £46m Asian Fund from Philip Ehrmann, who will focus solely on the China Fund.
Surtees has been running Jupiter’s Asia Pacific Sicav since 2005, while also managing the Asia ex Japan segment of its Global Managed Fund. He has been at Jupiter since 1997, and has worked on the Asian desk since 2000.
Ehrmann has helmed the Asian fund since joining Jupiter from Gartmore in 2006. However, he has become increasingly focused on Chinese equities as China has evolved into a significant investment universe in its own right. Since it was launched in October 2006, Jupiter China Fund has attracted some £177m under management.
Surtees said: “The outlook for Asian equities remains attractive as the two largest economies, China and India, should grow at 8% and 6.5% respectively this year, a remarkable achievement in light of the global backdrop.
“Overall Asian countries have not been afflicted by the issues that have undermined Western economies. Corporates and consumers are not highly leveraged, and the banking system continues to function well as exposure to ‘toxic’ assets were largely avoided. These factors should help support the evolution of a more domestically-orientated region.”
