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JPMorgan American Investment Trust PLC on Tuesday maintained its dividend and said it outperformed its benchmark, despite a fall in asset value over the past six months.
The fund is managed by JP Morgan Asset Management and is an active investor in ‘the core US stock market’. It reported net asset value per share as at June 30 stood of 696.3 pence, down 9.8% versus 771.9p as at December 31.
The fund recorded a total return on net assets per share in sterling terms of negative 8.4%, outperforming its benchmark, the S&P 500 Index, which returned negative 10.8%.
The company attributed the decline in assets to high inflation, which is putting pressure on prices and is undermining wage growth, consumer spending power, and corporate profit.
In addition, it cited recession fears.
‘Markets tend to anticipate economic conditions and share prices have already dropped significantly due to mounting concerns about the outlook for growth,’ the fund said.
The FTSE 250 listing declared an interim dividend of 2.5 pence per share, unchanged from a year prior.
Looking ahead, the fund said it expects stagflation to continue for the rest of 2022. Further, it expects the current market volatility to persist.
‘We expect volatility to persist until we get clarity on the medium-term inflation picture and the Fed's response, but we will not be deterred by such uncertainties. Valuations are now at much more attractive levels, and we will seek to capitalise on the interesting investment opportunities this volatility will inevitably generate, with the aim of maintaining our track record of capital growth and superior returns for our shareholders,’ portfolio managers Timothy Parton and Jonathan Simon commented.
Shares were trading 0.3% lower at 772.98 pence each on Tuesday morning in London.
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