JPMorgan Limited Duration’s seasoned managers bring extensive securitized debt experience. This team and vast supporting cast execute a disciplined, value-driven process, earning an upgraded People Pillar rating.

Effective July 31, 2023, JPMorgan Limited Duration Bond converted to JPMorgan Limited Duration Bond ETF JPLD. The exchange-traded fund assumed the mutual fund's performance history since its February 1993, inception. This conversion did not change the team’s approach.

Comanagers Michael Sais and Bob Manning each bring decades of experience, but they don’t do it alone. A deep supporting lineup of managers, research analysts, and traders propel this strategy’s People rating to High from Above Average. They consistently execute this straightforward approach that emphasizes short-term mortgage- and asset-backed securities, but their expertise in sourcing and selecting various agency MBS structures stands out. Alongside the managers, seven securitized analysts and large corporate credit research teams help with bottom-up research.

The ETF forges its own path. Stringent security selection and stable duration highlight the strategy’s approach, resulting in a less volatile offering than peers. The Bloomberg 1-3 Year US Government/Credit Index, which features U.S. Treasuries and agency debt (70%) and investment-grade corporates (30%), is only a loose proxy. Instead, the ETF features securitized debt of various structures designed to offer an attractive yield and stable duration profile, limiting extension in periods of rising yields. While the process considers macro themes, bottom-up security selection drives portfolio construction. Low-yielding U.S. Treasuries don’t show up here; instead, nonagency MBS, commercial MBS, ABS, and collateralized loan obligations (40%-80% of assets) and agency MBS and collateralized mortgage obligations (25%-50%) constitute the bulk of the portfolio, while investment-grade credit plays a supporting role (0%-15%).

This is a lower risk short-term bond offering versus peers, yet it has an enviable long-term record. Over the past 15 years, its 2.7% annualized gain through August 2023 beat its unique short-term bond Morningstar Category median peer’s 2.2% and Bloomberg 1-3 Year U.S. Government/Credit Index’s 1.5%. This result landed near the category’s top quartile. Its Sharpe ratio, a measure of returns relative to standard deviation, was also solid, among the upper third of category rivals.

Analyst Rating

A reliable, lower-volatility short-term offering.

Senior Analyst

Paul Olmsted

JPMorgan has honed its process that relies on various macro inputs, diligent bottom-up security analysis, and disciplined duration positioning to earn an Above Average Process rating. 

The Bloomberg 1-3 Year US Government/Credit Index, which features U.S. Treasuries and agency debt (70%) and investment-grade corporates (30%), is only a loose proxy for this ETF. The process begins with JPMorgan’s quarterly investment meeting that sets macro themes for the subsequent three to six months, but bottom-up security selection drives portfolio construction. The managers avoid low-yielding U.S. Treasuries in favor of securitized bonds and corporates. Nonagency MBS, CMBS, ABS, and CLOs (40%-80% of assets) and agency MBS and CMOs (25%-50%) make up the bulk of the portfolio, while investment-grade credit is less impactful (0%-15%).

Diligent security selection is key, and the team is picky about what it owns. For years, it has focused on bonds with better convexity profiles or those that have more stable durations given changes in underlying yields. Examples include CMOs that target specific cash flows, specified MBS pools with distinct underlying characteristics, or shorter-term ABS. Corporate bonds enhance yields and add diversification.

The managers aim to keep duration (a measure of interest-rate sensitivity) within a narrow 1.0-3.0 years band, but typically around 1.5 years, shorter than its index and average peer.

Above Average

Process

Experience, securitized expertise, consistency, and depth make this team stand out. The veteran managers and collective expertise of JPMorgan’s securitized debt specialists and vast fixed-income resources earn a People Pillar upgrade to High from Above Average.

Mainstays Michael Sais and Bob Manning bring a wealth of experience, especially within securitized sectors. Sais’ JPMorgan career began as an MBS research analyst before joining as a comanager in 1995. Manning’s contributions to the firm’s fixed-income efforts began in 1999; he joined the fund in 2013 to add depth and lessen key-person risk. They know each other well, also comanaging JPMorgan Government Bond HLGAX.

Alongside this duo, the firm’s large network of fixed-income specialists helps guide macro positioning and contribute to bottom-up ideas. Experience matters when sourcing and selecting bonds that meet the managers’ stringent standards. This duo conducts much of their bottom-up research themselves but also draw on specialized portfolio managers and a growing team of securitized analysts. A seven-person securitized research cohort, led by Sajjad Hussain since 2021, is responsible for analysis and monitoring and collaborates with the managers on investment ideas. This tight-knit team jointly makes portfolio decisions and works out any differences in the best interests of the fund.

This team has also been stable, with no turnover of any key contributors over the past five years and plans to add another securitized analyst to the fold. The managers’ personal ownership is meaningful, aligning their ownership interests with investors. Sais’ personal stake in the fund exceeds $1 million, with Manning having at least $500,000.

High

People

A well-resourced, thoughtful, and disciplined steward of client assets, JPMorgan Asset Management maintains an Above Average Parent rating.
As of 2022, this investment stalwart manages more than USD 2.5 trillion in AUM. Composed of various global cohorts and diverse asset classes, the firm has more tightly integrated its capabilities in recent years, notably through the development of proprietary analytical and risk systems. Investment teams are robustly staffed and helmed by seasoned contributors. The firm’s strategies tend to produce reliable portfolios, and several flagship offerings are Morningstar Medalists. Manager incentives align with fundholders'; compensation reflects longer-term performance factors, and portfolio managers invest in the firm’s strategies as part of their compensation plans. 
The firm’s funds tend to be well-priced, but they aren’t as competitive as many highly regarded peers of similar scale. Recent product launches include thematic and single-country strategies, both of which carry the potential for volatile performance and flows, along with misuse by investors. The firm remains intrepid when it comes to developing an environmental, social, and governance-focused framework and continues to move into other areas such as direct indexing through its 55iP acquisition and China through its joint venture, but these complicated initiatives take time to assess any real and lasting effect.

Parent

JPMorgan Limited Duration Bond ETF

JPLD is an actively managed fund that invests mainly in a broad portfolio of investment grade asset-backed and mortgage-backed securities with an average duration of three years or less.

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