JPMorgan's Research 130/30 Strategy Celebrates Its Three Year Anniversary

NEW YORK, Sept. 21 /PRNewswire/ -- J.P. Morgan Asset Management ('JPMAM') is celebrating the three year anniversary of its Research 130/30 strategy.  The bottom-up, fundamental strategy managed by Terance Chen in JPMAM's Core Equity Team has generated strong relative performance results. Since its inception in July of 2007, the Research 130/30 strategy has achieved an annualized excess return of 3.25% (net of fees) above the Russell 1000 benchmark, delivering out-performance despite significant periods of market volatility.  The strategy also ranks in the 12th percentile in the eVestment US Extended universe, since inception*. With $105 million in assets under management, the Research 130/30 strategy is expected to be one of J.P. Morgan Asset Management's key equity extension strategies.

Utilizing active stock selection with a systematic valuation process, the strategy invests in a diversified portfolio of U.S. large cap equities with a target average exposure of 130% long and 30% short.

"The cornerstone of our fundamental-based investment process is our dedicated and experienced team of 22 buy-side industry specialist research analysts with 15 years experience on average. Portfolio construction begins by capturing the full range of their research insights, which provides a complete ranking of the universe of stocks.  Terance Chen has been running long/short strategies for over nine years and has a history of success in managing both long only and long/short strategies. We believe with our deeper insights, disciplined approach and Terance's tremendous experience, we can construct a very unique long-short portfolio which seeks to significantly expands alpha generation and improves portfolio efficiency," said Paul Quinsee, CIO U.S. Large Cap Core Equity, JPMorgan Asset Management.

"We were one of the early pioneers of long-short strategies. Three years ago we developed a Research 130/30 offering, unlocking the potential to create more alpha in the large cap equity space. Research 130/30 allows us to allocate capital to sectors where we have our best ideas, while keeping net sector exposures equal to benchmark weights. This strategy is a strong fit with our investment style and long-short experience," Quinsee added.

J.P. Morgan Asset Management now offers a range of 130/30 equity extension strategies to institutional clients; Large Cap Core 130/30; Research 130/30; Dynamic 130/30 and Large Cap Value 130/30. As of 6/30/10, assets under management across the above mentioned strategies is close to $14bn.

For further information on J.P. Morgan Asset Management's Research 130/30 Strategy, please contact: www. jpmorgan.com/institutional

* eVestment Alliance universe, as of [06.30.10]. Based on absolute returns.

About J.P. Morgan Asset Management:

J.P. Morgan Asset Management, with assets under supervision of $1.6 trillion (as of 6/30/10), is a global leader in investment 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.  JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM), the parent company of J.P. Morgan Asset Management, is a leading global financial services firm with assets of $2.0 trillion and operations in more than 60 countries.  Information about JPMorgan Chase & Co. is available at www.jpmorganchase.com.

Biography of Terance Chen:

Terance Chen, Managing Director, is a Portfolio Manager in the U.S. Equity Group. An employee since 1994, Terance is responsible for the management of several long/short strategies, including Research Market Neutral, Research 130/30, and Research Total Return. He is also part of the portfolio management team for the Research Enhanced Index (REI) strategies. Prior to his current position, Terance was a Quantitative Equity Research Analyst. Terance holds a B.S. in finance from New York University's Stern School of Business and is a CFA charter holder.

Past performance is not indicative of future returns. Performance includes the reinvestment of income.

The strategy will have substantial short positions and must borrow those securities to make delivery to the buyer. The strategy may not always be able to borrow a security it wants to sell short. The strategy also may be unable to close out an established short position at an acceptable price, and may have to sell related long positions at disadvantageous times.

J.P. Morgan Asset Management is the marketing name for the asset management businesses of JPMorgan Chase & Co. Those businesses include, but are not limited to, J.P. Morgan Investment Management Inc., Security Capital Research & Management Incorporated and J.P. Morgan Alternative Asset Management, Inc.

SOURCE J.P. Morgan Asset Management