JPMAM’s EQDP-appointed fund strategy to focus on Asian equities with ‘majority’ allocated to S’pore stocks

JP Morgan Asset Management (JPMAM), one of three asset managers chosen by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) to launch fund strategies under the Equity Market Development Programme (EQDP), will allocate their share of $1.1 billion to Asian equities with a “majority allocation” to Singapore and its small- and mid-cap stocks.

Pauline Ng, JPMAM’s head of Asean equity team, emerging markets & Asia Pacific equities, says the fund is an “innovative product and the first of its kind” that will offer “high income”.

Speaking at JPMAM’s 3Q2025 outlook briefing on July 29, Ng says she will manage the fund alongside Ong Chang Qi, JPMAM’s executive director, emerging markets and Asia Pacific equities.

While the JPMAM executives declined to reveal the name of the fund, Ng says it will have a large allocation to Singapore equities alongside other Asian markets, such as Australia, China and India.

“The reason that we are confident in [these markets] is because we want to have a diverse income,” says Ng, emphasising that the stocks will have high dividend yields.

“When we designed this product, we were conscious of ensuring that the income comes from a diverse pool,” she adds, broadly mentioning sectors like REITs, telecommunications, consumer and financial services — though she stopped short of confirming any sector tilt.

“That is how we ensure that the income is stable through both up and down markets. With that in mind, we will also tap on the expertise we have in JP Morgan, allowing us to look across multiple markets in our high-income offering,” says Ng.

Like fellow chosen asset managers Avanda Investment Management and Fullerton Fund Management, JPMAM declined to reveal how MAS’s $1.1 billion placement will be divided among them.

Outside of the placement, Ng says JPMAM aims to “raise as much as possible” by targeting both high-net-worth investors and retail investors in Singapore.

Ng hopes JPMAM’s fund will “meet the twin objectives of EQDP” to increase investor interest in Singapore’s equities market — particularly small- and mid-caps — and address the income needs of local investors.

“Stay tuned,” Ng teases. “There will be more details as we work out internally with regards to some specifics, but we are very excited.”

Three chosen fund strategies

JPMAM and Fullerton have been relatively tight-lipped about their chosen fund strategies since MAS named its three picks on July 21.

JPMAM side-stepped questions about its fund strategy then, telling The Edge Singapore then that its Asean equities team comprises “five senior portfolio managers with an average of 20 years of investment experience”. “The team is well-equipped with extensive expertise in researching and investing in Singapore equities, a commitment that spans over four decades.”

Meanwhile, Fullerton announced on July 21 that it will launch a “dedicated Singapore equities unit trust” here to “crowd in investor assets from various investor segments locally and abroad”.

In response to The Edge Singapore, Fullerton said the unit trust will be invested in stocks listed on the Singapore Exchange (SGX) with exposure “across all market capitalisation”. “It will offer daily liquidity and be made available to everyone including retail, accredited and institutional investors. More details will be provided in due course.”

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However, details “are still being worked out” and discussions are “still in the preliminary stages”, said Fullerton in response to multiple questions.

Avanda Investment Management, co-founded in 2015 by former GIC CIO and 2023 Presidential Election candidate Ng Kok Song, was the only firm to readily answer queries about their selected strategy.

In response to The Edge Singapore, Avanda said it will launch its Singapore equities strategy as a new standalone fund called the Avanda Singapore Discovery Fund, which will be fully allocated to Singapore-listed companies with a “strong focus” on the small- and mid-cap segment.

The firm added in an email: “There are three themes running through the strategy: Value-up, Local Champions and Turnaround. This distinguishes us from most of the existing Singapore-only funds, which are benchmarked to the indices and have a significant overweight to large caps.”

The strategy will be managed by Richard Chan, partner and head of equities; and Sherman Lim, portfolio manager, equities. The duo will be supported by Avanda’s equity team.

This marks the first time MAS is deploying funds from the $5 billion EQDP, which aims to strengthen the local asset management and research ecosystem and increase investor interest in Singapore’s equities market, particularly small- and mid-caps.

MAS says the three firms’ proposed fund strategies are aligned with the EQDP’s objectives and will crowd in third-party capital alongside MAS’s funding. The three asset managers have also committed to expand or contribute to the growth of the asset management and research capabilities in Singapore, according to MAS.

Over 100 global, regional and local asset managers have indicated interest in the EQDP since it was announced in February. MAS is reviewing the submissions in batches to speed up the appointment and deployment process.

By end-2025, MAS expects to announce a second batch of asset managers that will manage a portion of the remaining funds under the EQDP.

Asean favourites

Back at JPMAM’s July 29 outlook briefing. Ng says bottom-up investment opportunities in Southeast Asia are “very diverse”. “There is a huge bifurcation in the year-to-date returns in the Asean market.”

She adds that the MSCI Asean is up about 10% year to date in US dollar terms.

Singapore banks have dominated the local stock market with their strong shareholder returns, and Ng notes that banks’ capital return initiatives have inspired other companies.

For example, Singapore Telecommunications (Singtel) and Keppel Corporation, which have historically generated fairly low returns on equity (ROE), have now come up with measures to fix that, adds Ng.

AI and tech is not “natural” within the Asean region, says Ng, and the rise of tech over the past decade has caused non-tech heavy Asean equities to become “unloved” by the market.

Hence, “self-help” initiatives were introduced in several markets, such as Singapore’s EQDP and Indonesia’s new sovereign fund — Danantara.

That aside, the AI and tech boom is causing a rise for need in data centres in the region. “We see a data centre story in Malaysia,” Ng says. “Stability of power supply, stability of the domestic government and the governance structure are some of the key considerations for hyperscalers to look out for when considering setting up data centres.”

Thailand’s medical tourism opportunity is another bright spot to look out for, according to Ng. She thinks Thailand’s healthcare sector offers both quality and value, especially compared to pricier markets like Singapore.

Ng also likes Indonesia’s financial sector, which is trading at above 8% dividend yield and “sitting on a lot of capital”.

“We are looking for bottom-up opportunities and diversification. We will never have a TSMC in Southeast Asia… but when we look at new economy stocks, we should also not forget Sea and Grab that are listed in the US,” says Ng. “Those are Asean champions and they have the right to win, in our opinion, and that creates a diversification in terms of returns for our investors.”

Read about the full slate of announcements: