JP Morgan Asset Management has renamed and repositioned its JPM Europe Convergence Equity Fund as the JPM Turkey Equity Fund.

The firm has said that the change has been made to allow the fund’s managers to focus on the best possible investment opportunities and to reflect its belief in the long-term growth opportunities that Turkey has to offer. Turkey is currently much more “on the radar” of both investors and wealth management firms looking for growth markets; to view a recent WealthBriefing feature on the subject, click here.

“Whilst European convergence has been a dominant and successful theme for over a decade, we now feel that the sector looks more challenging and, therefore, less compelling over the medium term. As investors move beyond asset allocating between the major BRIC markets, we want to give investors direct access to the most attractive second-tier markets that provide structural growth and high-quality businesses. Turkey is such a market and has sufficient liquidity for a single-country fund,” said Richard Titherington, chief investment officer for emerging market equities at JP Morgan Asset Management.

Although the fund will move from a regional strategy to a single-country strategy with the investment objective and benchmark changing accordingly, Sonal Tanna and Oleg Biryulyov will continue to manage the SICAV vehicle. The firm said there will be no change to the investment approach and research, which remains fundamental and bottom-up.

“Like many other emerging market investors, we think Turkey is a structurally attractive market because of its strong demographic profile. Turkey benefits from one of the most growth-friendly demographics in the emerging world, with half of the population being under the age of 29, providing a ready supply of labour and support for solid consumption growth,” said Titherington.

In other recent developments, across the wider areas of the firm, JP Morgan’s private bank recently expanded its team of India-focused bankers, appointing managing director Ravi Bulchandani and executive director Jafar hamid.