Jupiter is planning to restructure its £73m Far Eastern unit trust in order to maximise the skills of Japan specialist Simon Somerville and Asian expert Philip Ehrmann.

The proposals, which are subject to unitholder approval*, will involve removing all Japanese investments, currently representing 51% of the portfolio and transferring them into the £68m Jupiter Japan Income fund, managed by Simon Somerville.

Jupiter also proposes to change the investment policy of the Jupiter Far Eastern Fund to remove specific reference to investment in Japan. At the same time, it will clarify that the territories covered by the fund may include India, which Jupiter believes offers excellent investment opportunities. If these changes are approved, the name of the fund will be changed to the Jupiter Asian Fund.

Investors in the Jupiter Far Eastern Fund will, following the reconstruction, have their existing holding split between the Jupiter Japan Income Fund and the Jupiter Asian Fund.

The restructured Jupiter Asian Fund will be managed by Asian specialist Philip Ehrmann, who joins Jupiter on 2 October from Gartmore. Philip, who has more than 16 years of managing Asian assets, will also manage the Jupiter China Fund, which will be launched on 20th October.

Simon Somerville, current manager of the Jupiter Far Eastern Fund, said: "Asian markets have developed significantly since the Fund was launched in 1988 - the markets are now more mature and some territories have become asset classes in themselves.

"This growing maturity means there are now a far broader range of investment opportunities and, as a result, Far Eastern managers have become increasingly specialised. It is our view that, having appointed Philip Ehrmann, it would be in the best interests of investors to split the Fund and maximise our respective skills."

The Jupiter Far Eastern Fund has been managed by Simon Somerville since February 2005. Over the past year the Fund has gained 16.5%, compared with 14.2% for the Asia Pacific including Japan sector average. This performance places the Fund 2nd out of 8 funds in the sector.

Simon is also responsible for managing the Jupiter Japan Income Fund, which was launched in September 2005. During this period it has returned 12% against 6% for the IMA Japan sector average. This places the fund 5th out of 58 funds in the sector.**

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Notes to editors:

* Jupiter issued letters to clients in the Jupiter Far Eastern Fund on 27 September. They have been asked to vote on the proposed changes on 13th October and, subject to their approval, the Fund will be split on 20th October.

The minimum investment levels on the both Funds will be a £500 lump sum or £100 a month for unit trust investors and a £1,000 lump sum or £50 a month for ISA investor. Going forward, the charges on the two funds will be aligned at an initial charge of 5.25% and an annual management charge of 1.5%.

The Jupiter Asian Fund will be listed in the IMA Asia Pacific excluding Japan sector. All costs relating to the split will be borne by Jupiter.

** Source: Standard & Poor's Micropal. Figures for Jupiter Far Eastern Fund from 19.09.05 to 18.09.06, bid to bid, net income reinvested. Figures for Jupiter Japan Income Fund from 19.9.06 to 25.9.06

	Year on Year % Growth ending 31.08.2006
	2001-2002		2002-2003		2003-2004		2004-2005		2005-2006
	-10.5%		6.9%		0.7%		16.4%		19.1%