Bestinvest says
Simon Somerville has run the Jupiter Japan Income fund with some success, but has yet to prove himself on a global mandate. Additionally, on this fund he is limited to Jupiter's own managers. We prefer the group's external funds of funds (the Merlin range), which have more flexibility and a wider range of talent at their disposal.
The named fund manager acts as the asset allocator, determining the proportion of the fund to be invested in regional equities, global bonds and other assets. Stock selection in each region/sector is then delegated to eight Jupiter fund managers - these are typically up and coming managers rather than the group's more established names. The managers are unconstrained by benchmark so the portfolio is likely to bear little resemblance to the official benchmark, the FTSE World. Stock selection is true to Jupiter's approach in that targeted companies are considered to be undervalued and have favourable growth prospects arising from characteristics such as proven management or strong products or services. Asset allocation is determined partly by the manager's view on the market and partly guided by the talent he has available to him in-house.