Fundsupermart Recommended Funds List 2024/25: Discover The Best-In-Class Equity Funds Here

• We feature 45 funds for the 2024/25 edition of our Fundsupermart Recommended Funds List. Out of which, 32 of them are equity strategies.

• Our recommended fund for US equities has been changed to the JPMorgan Funds - America Equity A (acc) USD.

• We moved China from the “Core Equity” to the “Supplementary Equity” section of our list, and our new recommended fund is the Fidelity China Focus A-SGD.

• With the growing importance of digital technologies, we added the Eastspring Investments Unit Trusts - Global Technology SGD into the “Digital Economy” category, along with the existing Fidelity Global Technology A-ACC-USD.

• This year’s list features the JPMorgan Funds - Korea Equity A (acc) USD as we believe that South Korea has what it takes to become a new Asian Tiger.

It’s that exciting time of the year again – our annual update of the Fundsupermart Recommended Funds List is here!

Our research team has been publishing the list since 2001 to help investors make informed investment decisions. As the range of available funds continues to expand, our goal is to simplify your investment journey and offer a solid starting point for building a well-diversified portfolio. We update the list annually to ensure that our recommendations stay current and relevant.

As usual, this year’s list spans across equity and fixed income asset classes, covering global, regional, single market, and sector-focused strategies. For the 2024/25 edition, we included 45 recommended funds that have demonstrated their ability to deliver strong and consistent risk-adjusted returns relative to their peers.

In this article, we highlight the changes made to the equity section of our list.

Recommended equity funds

Within the 45 recommended funds featured this year, 32 of them are equity strategies.

2023 was a year of recovery for global equity markets, with the US economy showing resilience and proving less sensitive to higher interest rates. Furthermore, equities began this year on a strong note, with indices like the S&P 500 and Nikkei 225 hitting fresh all-time highs.

However, the rally has recently faltered. A second rate hike from the Bank of Japan (BOJ) sparked a yen rally, triggering a rapid unwinding of carry trades that shook global markets. Concerns surrounding a potential AI bubble and slower US economic growth have also surfaced.

In our view, the recent selloff is driven more by sentiment rather than any material changes in economic and corporate fundamentals. While market volatility may remain elevated in the short term, we view this as a source of opportunity and recommend investors stay the course.

Importantly, we believe the funds we have selected are capable of navigating uncertain times, and ultimately deliver superior risk-adjusted returns over the long term.

Table 1: Recommended equity funds

Core Equity
Category	2024
Asia ex Japan	FSSA Dividend Advantage A QDIS SGD
	Fullerton Lux Funds - Asia Absolute Alpha A Acc SGD
	Fidelity Asia Pacific Dividend A-USD
	Nikko AM Shenton Emerging Enterprise Discovery Fund SGD
Digital Economy	Fidelity Global Technology A-ACC-USD
	Eastspring Investments Unit Trusts - Global Technology SGD
Europe	Eastspring Investments Unit Trusts - Pan European SGD
	Fidelity European Smaller Companies A-EUR
Global	JPMorgan Investment Funds - Global Select Equity A (acc) USD
Global Emerging Markets	JPMorgan Funds - Emerging Markets Dividend A (mth) USD
Japan	Eastspring Investments - Japan Dynamic AS SGD
	Janus Henderson Horizon Japanese Smaller Companies A2 USD
US	JPMorgan Funds - America Equity A (acc) USD
	Natixis Harris Associates US Value Equity RA USD
	FTGF Royce US Smaller Companies A Acc USD
Supplementary Equity
Category	2024
ASEAN	Principal ASEAN Dynamic Fund Class SGD
Asia Pacific Property	United Asia Pacific Real Estate Income Acc SGD
China	Fidelity China Focus A-SGD
China-Local	Blackrock Systematic China A-Share Opportunities A2 USD
Global Financials	Fidelity Global Financial Services A-ACC-SGD
Global Healthcare	Blackrock World Healthscience A2 USD
Global Infrastructure	FTGF ClearBridge Infrastructure Value A Mdis SGD-H Plus
Global Property	Janus Henderson Horizon Global Property Equities A2 USD
Global Resources	Blackrock Natural Resources A2 USD
Greater China	FSSA Regional China A Acc SGD
India	RAMS Investment Unit Trust - India Equities Portfolio II A USD
Indonesia	abrdn Indonesia Equity SGD
Latin America	Schroder ISF Latin American A Acc SGD
Malaysia	abrdn Malaysian Equity SGD
Singapore	Nikko AM Singapore Dividend Equity SGD
South Korea	JPMorgan Funds - Korea Equity A (acc) USD
Thailand	LionGlobal Thailand SGD
Source: iFAST Compilations

(Related article: Market Outlook: Here’s why it’s time to buy during market selloffs)

Notable changes in this year’s list

Core Equity – US: JPMorgan Funds - America Equity A (acc) USD

The first notable change in the 2024/25 edition of the list is our recommended fund for US equities. We believe US equities should be a staple feature of every investor’s portfolio. The US is home to a large number of high-quality companies, mostly global industry leaders with sustainable competitive advantages that will allow them to stay ahead of the competition.

Our new recommended fund is the JPMorgan Funds - America Equity A (acc) USD. The fund is one of JPMorgan’s oldest, having been launched in 1988. Benchmarked against the S&P 500 Index (Total Return Net of 30% withholding tax), it combines elements of both value and growth investing to create a concentrated portfolio of US equities that can outperform in various market cycles.

As of 30 June 2024, the fund holds a total of 40 stocks, with the top 10 making up about 40% of the portfolio. The largest sector is information technology, at 27.6% of the portfolio. Several big tech companies are featured among its largest holdings, such as the likes of Microsoft, NVIDIA and Amazon (Table 2).

Table 2: Top 10 holdings of the JPMorgan America Equity Fund

Company	Sector	Weight
Microsoft	Technology	7.8%
NVIDIA	Technology	6.9%
Amazon	Consumer Discretionary	5.9%
Meta	Communication Services	4.9%
Apple	Technology	2.9%
EOG Resources	Energy	2.9%
Regeneron	Healthcare	2.8%
Berkshire Hathaway	Financials	2.8%
Broadcom	Technology	2.8%
Kinder Morgan	Energy	2.8%
Total		42.5%
Source: JPMorgan, iFAST Compilations Data as of 30 June 2024

One of the reasons why we favour this fund is because of its solid long-term performance track record. On a cumulative basis, it managed to deliver returns of 38.5%, 40.0%, and 104.4% over the past one, three, and five years respectively, significantly outperforming its peer group (Figure 1).

The fund has also scored well in terms of risk management, with a maximum drawdown of -34.5% over a five-year period, versus the peer average of -36.3%. This is likely attributable to the fund’s strong emphasis on selecting quality stocks and robust risk controls.

Figure 1: The JPMorgan Funds - America Equity has significantly outperformed peers

(Related article: Hunting for the best US stocks? Let the JPMorgan America Equity Fund do the heavy lifting for you.)

Supplementary Equity – China: Fidelity China Focus A-SGD

Given the long-term structural challenges in the Chinese economy, we believe China should not form a core component of investors’ portfolios. Instead, China should be treated as a tactical position, offering potential opportunities from valuation gaps but require frequent monitoring due to higher risks.

As a result, we moved China and Greater China from the “Core Equity” to the “Supplementary Equity” section of our list. Our recommendation for Greater China, FSSA Regional China A Acc SGD, remains unchanged. But for Chinese equities, we have selected a new fund: the Fidelity China Focus A-SGD.

The Fidelity China Focus Fund aims to generate alpha mainly through stock selection, with a value-quality tilt and a bias towards mid to large-cap stocks. It prioritises companies with strong business models and cashflows, as they tend to offer investors better risk-adjusted returns.

The fund’s top sector allocations are consumer discretionary and financials, accounting for 25.5% and 15.1% of the portfolio respectively as of 30 June 2024. Notable holdings include tech giants like Tencent and Alibaba, alongside major banks like China Construction Bank and ICBC (Table 3).

Table 3: Top 10 holdings of the Fidelity China Focus Fund

Company	Sector	Weight
Tencent	Communication Services	6.9%
Alibaba	Consumer Discretionary	6.8%
China Construction Bank	Financials	4.5%
ICBC	Financials	4.5%
China Merchants Bank	Financials	3.9%
BOC Aviation	Industrials	3.4%
Prosus	Consumer Discretionary	3.1%
ENN Energy	Utilities	2.9%
China Mengniu Dairy	Consumer Staples	2.9%
China Oilfield Services	Energy	2.9%
Total		41.8%
Source: Fidelity International, iFAST Compilations Data as of 30 June 2024

As compared to its peers, the fund has delivered significantly lower losses over one-year, three-year, and five-year periods (Figure 2). Furthermore, its maximum drawdown is roughly half that of its peers, showcasing its superior resilience in volatile markets (Figure 3).

Figure 2: Fidelity China Focus has done exceptionally well against peers over a three-year horizon

Figure 3: Maximum drawdown is nearly half that of peers

(Related article: Revising Our Stance on China: From Negative to Neutral)

An addition to Core Equity – Digital Economy: Eastspring Investments Unit Trusts - Global Technology SGD

It is difficult to deny the growing importance of digital technologies in the world today, and we believe they will drive massive disruption in the years to come. As such, the digital economy should be a cornerstone of investors’ portfolios. We recommend a 20% equity allocation to digital economy stocks, reflecting the importance we place on this sector.

(Related article: Transitioning from GDP-weighting: Our new portfolio strategy revealed)

To better capture the essence of the underlying companies in the universe, we've renamed the ‘Global Technology’ category in our list to ‘Digital Economy.’ Given the substantial allocation, we think the exposure to digital economy could be split between two funds for diversification benefits: Fidelity Global Technology A-ACC-USD, a fund we've consistently recommended, and the newly added Eastspring Investments Unit Trusts - Global Technology SGD.

The latter invests in long-term technology drivers, focusing on companies with high quality management, strong barriers to entry, and un-appreciated growth but at a reasonable price. It holds in a wide range of firms in the digital economy, ranging from internet companies (29.4% of portfolio as of 30 June 2024), players in the semiconductor industry (29.3%), to software providers (20.2%).

Close to 90% of the fund’s holdings are in US companies, with the remainder mainly comprising of firms from Taiwan, Hong Kong, and the Netherlands. The top 10 positions, consisting of Microsoft, NVIDIA, and Alphabet, make up around half of the portfolio (Table 4).

Table 4: Top 10 holdings of the Eastspring Investments Global Technology Fund

Company	Sector	Weight
Microsoft	Technology	9.6%
NVIDIA	Technology	8.4%
Alphabet Class A	Communication Services	5.8%
Meta	Communication Services	5.3%
Amazon	Consumer Discretionary	4.9%
Apple	Technology	4.2%
AMD	Technology	4.0%
Marvell Technology	Technology	3.2%
Alphabet Class C	Communication Services	3.1%
Micron	Technology	2.9%
Total		51.4%
Source: Eastspring Investments, iFAST Compilations Data as of 30 June 2024

The fund has consistently delivered stronger returns over the past one and three years compared to the Fidelity Global Technology Fund and other peers (Figure 4). Although its five-year cumulative returns of 124.2% and maximum drawdown of -38.1% trail behind Fidelity Global Technology, it has still outperformed its peers by a significant margin (Figure 5).

Figure 4: The Eastspring Investments Global Technology delivered stronger returns versus its peer group

Figure 5: Smaller drawdown compared to its peer group

(Related article: US tech stocks are now on sale. Don’t miss this opportunity.)

A new market in Supplementary Equity – South Korea: JPMorgan Funds - Korea Equity A (acc) USD

With a consistent current account surplus, supportive government policies, technology leadership and world class brands, we believe that South Korea has what it takes to become a new Asian Tiger. In addition, a greater economic expansion for South Korea is likely yet to come on the back of the semiconductor upcycle.

We have opted to include the JPMorgan Funds - Korea Equity A (acc) USD in this year’s list. This fund seeks to generate most of its alpha through stock selection, utilising an investment style that incorporates value, growth, and quality attributes.

It typically maintains a concentrated portfolio, with its top ten holdings currently making up about 45% of the portfolio (Table 5). The top positions include Samsung and SK Hynix, the nation’s two largest semiconductor companies. The two collectively make up more than 70% of the global DRAM market and 50% of global NAND chip production.

Table 5: Top 10 holdings of the JPMorgan Korea Equity Fund

Company	Sector	Weight
Samsung Electronics	Technology	9.9%
SK Hynix	Technology	9.9%
Shinhan Financial	Financials	4.0%
LG Chem	Materials	3.6%
Samsung Biologics	Healthcare	3.6%
Hyundai Motor	Consumer Discretionary	3.6%
Samsung Electro-Mechanics	Technology	2.8%
Samsung Life Insurance	Technology	2.7%
Naver	Communication Services	2.6%
S-Oil	Energy	2.6%
Total		45.3%
Source: JPMorgan, iFAST Compilations Data as of 30 June 2024

Compared to its peer, the LionGlobal Korea Fund, the fund has posted slightly higher returns over a five-year period, albeit with a higher drawdown of -43.0% versus -37.8% for the LionGlobal fund (Figure 6).

Figure 6: The JPMorgan Korea Equity has done well over the longer term

(Related article: JPMorgan Funds – Korea Equity Fund: Chip into South Korea’s chip dominance with this fund!)

Fundsupermart Recommended Funds List: A good starting point for investors

If you’re feeling overwhelmed by the choices or simply don’t have the time to dive into every fund on our platform, our Fundsupermart Recommended Funds List is here to help. Click here to view the full report.

In addition to the funds we've highlighted above, we have also introduced some new recommended equity funds extensively in separate articles. Be sure to check them out below!

Table 6: Other new recommended equity funds

Category	Recommended Fund	Article
Asia ex Japan	Fidelity Asia Pacific Dividend A-USD	Invest in quality and stability with this Asian fund
Emerging Markets	JPMorgan Funds - Emerging Markets Dividend A (mth) USD	This Dividend Strategy Can Thrive in Emerging Markets
India	RAMS Investment Unit Trust - India Equities Portfolio II A USD	Seeking opportunities within the world’s fastest-growing major economy