JPMorgan Asia Growth & Income (JAGI ) has appointed a third manager in Pauline Ng, head of the asset manager’s Asean team.

Ng joins Robert Lloyd and Ayaz Ebrahim in managing the £289m fund, which differentiates itself from its Asian equity peers by paying a quarterly yield of 4% of net assets each year.

Ng is a country specialist for Asean (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) equities within the emerging markets and Asia Pacific equities team based in Singapore and has worked for JP Morgan Asset Management since 2005.

She was formerly a fund manager responsible for Malaysia and emerging Asia.

Interim results for JPMorgan Asia Growth & Income show the fund struggled in the six months to the end of March, as did its MSCI All Countries Asia ex Japan index, with both dropping 6.9%.

The strategy was stunted by technology and media stocks, with the largest detractor being Singapore gaming company Sea, which was sold off as competition increased.

Wider issues also blighted the fund, including geopolitical conflict, slowing Chinese growth and inflationary pressures, all of which created an uncertain backdrop that left the index trading at 1.6 times earnings, roughly 5% lower than average over the past 20 years.

While low valuations in South Korea, Hong Kong and China caused by slowing economies and regulatory headwinds offer opportunities, the managers remain cautious.

The fund trades at a discount of 9%, close to the double-digit discount it experienced in 2017 when it implemented its quarterly yield to try to attract retail investors and narrow the discount.

The discount blowing back out ‘offers value and is supported by buybacks’, says Deutsche Numis analyst Gavin Trodd.