JPMorgan Indian (JII) under board scrutiny for underperformance – JPMorgan Indian has posted its results for the year to 30 September 2021. During the period, the company produced a total return on net assets of 43.2% while the total return to shareholders was 45.4%, reflecting the narrowing of the share price discount to NAV from 16.8% at the beginning of the year to 15.5% at the period end. The share price rose sharply from 571.5p to 831p over the year.
Although the absolute performance of the company was positive over the 12 months, it underperformed the benchmark index by 3.6%. The board has investigated in detail the reasons for the underperformance and believes that the changes put in place since Ayaz Ebrahim became co-manager in August 2020 need more time to deliver. The board therefore considers that the continuing appointment of JPMAM for the provision of investment management services is in the best interests of shareholders. However, in view of the investment underperformance issues outlined above, the board is keeping the manager’s performance under constant scrutiny.
Chair, Rosemary Morgan, said: “While the pandemic has yet to run its course in India, we hope the situation can soon return to some normality. The Board and the investment managers remain confident about the prospects for generating positive shareholder returns from investing in Indian stocks based on the country’s demographics, huge potential for infrastructure development, educated population and technological innovation.”
JII : JPMorgan Indian under board scrutiny for underperformance