The investment objective of JPMorgan U.S. Large Cap Core Plus Fund (“U.S. Large Cap Core Plus Fund”) is to seek to provide a high total return from a portfolio of selected equity securities.
The investment objective of JPMorgan U.S. Research Enhanced Equity Fund (“U.S. Research Enhanced Equity Fund”) is to seek to provide a consistently high total return from a broadly diversified portfolio of equity securities with risk characteristics similar to the Standard and Poor’s 500 Composite Stock Price Index.
The investment objective of JPMorgan U.S. Value Fund (“U.S. Value Fund”) is to seek to provide capital growth over the long-term and to earn income from dividends.
Class L Shares of U.S. Equity Fund and Class A Shares of U.S. Research Enhanced Equity Fund are publicly offered on a limited basis. Investors are not eligible to purchase Class L Shares of the Funds unless they meet certain requirements as described in the Funds’ prospectus.
All share classes of Hedged Equity Fund are publicly offered on a limited basis. JPMorgan Equity Income Fund is offered on a limited basis. Investors are not eligible to purchase shares of the Fund unless they meet certain requirements as described in the Fund’s prospectuses.
Class A Shares generally provide for a front-end sales charge while Class C Shares provide for a contingent deferred sales charge ("CDSC"). No sales charges are assessed with respect to Class I, Class L, Class R2, Class R3, Class R4, Class R5 and Class R6 Shares. Certain Class A Shares, for which front-end sales charges have been waived, may be subject to a CDSC as described in the Funds' prospectus. Effective October 1, 2020, Class C Shares automatically convert to Class A Shares after eight years. Prior to October 1, 2020, Class C Shares automatically converted to Class A Shares after ten years. All classes of shares have equal rights as to earnings, assets and voting privileges, except that each class may bear different transfer agency, distribution and service fees and each class has exclusive voting rights with respect to its distribution plan and shareholder servicing agreements.
J.P. Morgan Investment Management Inc. (“JPMIM”), an indirect, wholly-owned subsidiary of JPMorgan Chase & Co. (“JPMorgan”), acts as Adviser (the “Adviser”) and Administrator (the “Administrator”) to the Funds.
2. Significant Accounting Policies
The following is a summary of significant accounting policies followed by the Funds in the preparation of their financial statements. The Funds are investment companies and, accordingly, follow the investment company accounting and reporting guidance of the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) Accounting Standards Codification Topic 946 — Investment Companies, which is part of U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”). The preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect (i) the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, (ii) disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements, and (iii) the reported amounts of increases and decreases in net assets from operations during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from those estimates.
A. Valuation of Investments — Investments are valued in accordance with GAAP and the Funds' valuation policies set forth by, and under the supervision and responsibility of, the Boards of Trustees of the Trusts (the "Boards"), which established the following approach to valuation, as described more fully below: (i) investments for which market quotations are readily available shall be valued at their market value and (ii) all other investments for which market quotations are not readily available shall be valued at their fair value as determined in good faith by the Boards.
The Administrator has established the J.P. Morgan Asset Management Americas Valuation Committee (“AVC”) to assist the Boards with the oversight and monitoring of the valuation of the Funds' investments. The Administrator implements the valuation policies of the Funds' investments, as directed by the Boards. The AVC oversees and carries out the policies for the valuation of investments held in the Funds. This includes monitoring the appropriateness of fair values based on results of ongoing valuation oversight including, but not limited to, consideration of macro or security specific events, market events, and pricing vendor and broker due diligence. The Administrator is responsible for discussing and assessing the potential impacts to the fair values on an ongoing basis, and, at least on a quarterly basis, with the AVC and the Boards.
Fixed income instruments are valued based on prices received from approved affiliated and unaffiliated pricing vendors or third party broker-dealers (collectively referred to as “Pricing Services”). The Pricing Services use multiple valuation techniques to determine the valuation of fixed income instruments. In instances where sufficient market activity exists, the Pricing Services may utilize a market-based approach through which trades or quotes from market makers are used to determine the valuation of these instruments. In instances where sufficient market activity may not exist, the Pricing Services also utilize proprietary valuation models which may consider market transactions in comparable securities and the various relationships between securities in determining fair value and/or market characteristics in order to estimate the relevant cash flows, which are then discounted to calculate the fair values.
Equities and other exchange-traded instruments are valued at the last sale price or official market closing price on the primary exchange on which the instrument is traded before the net asset values (“NAV”) of the Funds are calculated on a valuation date.
Investments in open-end investment companies (“Underlying Funds”) are valued at each Underlying Fund’s NAV per share as of the report date.
Futures contracts and options are generally valued on the basis of available market quotations.
