J.P. Morgan Funds Wins Five 2010 Lipper Awards

NEW YORK, March 25 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- J.P. Morgan Funds, the mutual fund arm of J.P. Morgan Asset Management (NYSE: JPM), today announced  that it has been recognized by Lipper, a leading global provider of mutual fund research and analysis, as a best performer in five categories.

5 Year Performance

JP Morgan Core Bond Fund, Select ranked 1st out of 57 funds in the U.S. Government Funds category.  With $14.7 billion in assets, this fund is managed by Douglas Swanson.

JP Morgan Research Market Neutral Fund, Institutional ranked 1st out of 23 funds in the Equity Market Neutral category.  With $818 million in assets, this fund is managed by Terance Chen.

3 Year Performance

JP Morgan Core Bond Fund, Ultra ranked 1st out of 63 funds in the Intermediate U.S. Government Funds.  With $14.7 billion in assets, this fund is managed by Douglas Swanson.  

JP Morgan SmartRetirement 2020 Fund, Institutional ranked 1st out of 109 funds in the Mixed-Asset Target 2020 Funds category.  With $405 million in assets, this fund is managed by the J.P. Morgan Global Multi-Assets Group, with Anne Lester as senior portfolio manager.  

JP Morgan SmartRetirement 2030 Fund, Institutional ranked 1st out of 106 funds in the Mixed-Asset Target 2030 category.  With $358 million in assets, this fund is managed by the J.P. Morgan Global Multi-Assets Group, with Anne Lester as senior portfolio manager.  

"These awards clearly demonstrate the strength of our investment capabilities across all asset classes during a very challenging market cycle and over the long-term," said George Gatch, President and CEO of J.P. Morgan Funds.

J.P. Morgan Funds had a very strong year in 2009, ranking 3rd in inflows for all U.S. mutual fund companies, and is the 4th largest mutual fund firm in the U.S., with $445 billion in assets under management (as of 12/31/2009).  It offers over 100 mutual fund products across the full range of asset classes, as well as separately managed accounts and retirement products.    

About J.P. Morgan Asset Management

J.P. Morgan Asset Management, with assets under supervision of $1.5 trillion, is a global leader in investment and wealth management. J.P. Morgan Asset Management's clients include institutions, retail investors and high-net worth individuals in every major market throughout the world.  J.P. Morgan Asset Management offers global investment management in equities, fixed income, real estate, hedge funds, private equity and liquidity.  J.P. Morgan Asset Management provides trust and estate, banking and brokerage services to high-net-worth clients and retirement services for corporations and individuals. JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM), the parent company of J.P. Morgan Asset Management, is a leading global financial services firm with assets of $2.1 trillion and operations in more than 60 countries.  Information about JPMorgan Chase & Co. is available at www.jpmorganchase.com.

The Lipper Fund Awards program highlights funds that have excelled in delivering consistently strong risk-adjusted performance, relative to peers.  Lipper designates award-winning funds in most individual classifications for the three-, five-, and ten-year periods.

Rankings do not take sales charges into account and are based on total return, net of expenses and include reinvested distributions. Lipper scores for Consistent Return reflect funds' historical risk-adjusted returns, measured in local currency, relative to peers. Funds registered for sale in a given country are selected and then scores for Consistent Return are computed for all Lipper classifications with five or more distinct portfolios. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

SOURCE J.P. Morgan Funds