Morningstar's evaluation of this fund's process aims to determine whether it has been applied consistently over time, as demonstrated by the portfolio's composition, its suitability for different types of investors, and expectations for performance in diverse market conditions, assuming the process is adhered to. JPMorgan International Equity Fund earns an Above Average Process Pillar rating.
This strategy skews toward larger, more growth-oriented companies than its average peer in the Foreign Large Blend Morningstar Category. Looking at additional factor exposure, this strategy favors high-quality stocks, which can improve downside risk protection because it entails holding consistently profitable, growing companies with solid balance sheets. The strategy is also historically more exposed compared with Morningstar Category peers. The managers have also tended to overweight yield, shown by the portfolio's high exposure to dividends or buybacks. Higher-yielding stocks can increase income, but some dividend-payers also might cut their payouts when earnings fall. But when compared with category peers, the strategy historically has had less exposure. Additionally, the managers do not exhibit a tilt toward momentum-oriented stocks, those currently on a winning streak. The latest portfolio has about average exposure compared with others in the equity fund universe. Momentum is based on the premise that stocks that have recently outperformed will continue to, and those that have underperformed will stay behind. However, the portfolio has more exposure than its Morningstar Category peers. More information on a fund and its respective category's factor exposure can be found in the Factor Profile module within the Portfolio section.
The portfolio is overweight in financial services by 2.6 percentage points in terms of assets compared with the average portfolio in the category, and its healthcare allocation is similar to the category. The sectors with low exposure compared to their category peers are consumer cyclical and real estate, with consumer cyclical underweighting the average portfolio by 3.1 percentage points of assets and real estate similar to the average. The strategy owns 78 securities and is quite concentrated. More concretely, 29.0% of the strategy's assets are housed within the top 10 holdings, versus the category’s 14.9% average.