Allan Lewis, managing director, JN Fund Managers, says the organisation remains bullish on investments in mutual funds despite the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the economy.

He was addressing recently held JN Mutual Funds Limited Annual General Meeting (AGM).

“One of the important things that we emphasise to our shareholders is that they should have a long-term perspective. The JN Mutual Funds are especially suited for those investors who don’t expect to need the funds for another three years or more,” he said.

A mutual fund is an investment scheme consisting of a pool of funds collected from many investors. This pool of funds is invested in various assets including stocks, bonds, real estate and money market securities. The performance of the fund is shared by all investors.

The benefits of the funds are numerous. If you want to diversify your investment, a mutual fund allows you to invest in a balanced portfolio of a broad range of investments without having to build a portfolio of individual assets on your own.

Lewis further explained that the funds are managed by a team of experienced professionals whose priority is to earn optimum risk adjusted returns. Each fund of the JN Mutual Funds has a tailored investment strategy.

“For most investors, mutual fund investments prove less expensive than paying an investment professional to manage your individual portfolio, and buying and holding the assets in your account,” he noted.

Giving an update on the performance of the mutual funds, Lewis said that the fund that performed the best was the Global US Fixed Income Fund, which posted the best return for 2020 of 6.55 per cent in US dollars terms, while the Local Money Market Fund posted the best return of 5.02 per cent for 2021.

As at December 2021, the total funds under management stood at J$7 billion compared to J$6.1 billion in December 2020. This include a wide range of securities such as, money market securities, fixed income securities (Government of Jamaica), Corporate Debt Obligations (both local and international), equities (both local and international stocks), real estate fund and private equity.

Persons can access and invest in the funds by contacting a financial advisor at JN Fund Managers.