(including Separate Trading of Registered
Interest and Principal of Securities (STRIPS)), securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S.
government or its agencies and instrumentalities, securities issued or guaranteed by supranational organizations, securities issued or guaranteed by foreign governments, repurchase agreements, and Rule 144A securities. All securities
will be U.S. dollar-denominated although they may be issued by a foreign corporation or a U.S.
affiliate of a foreign corporation, or a foreign government or its agencies and instrumentalities.
The Fund will concentrate its investments in the banking industry. Therefore, under normal conditions, the Fund will invest more than 25% of its assets in securities
issued by companies in the banking industry. The Fund may, however, invest less than 25% of its
assets in this industry as a temporary defensive measure.
All of the Fund’s investments will carry a minimum short-term rating of P-2, A-2 or F2 or better by
Moody’s Investors Service Inc. (Moody’s), S&P Global Ratings (S&P), or Fitch Ratings (Fitch), respectively, or the equivalent by another nationally recognized statistical rating organization
(NRSRO), or a minimum long-term rating of Baa3, BBB–, or BBB– by Moody’s,
S&P, or Fitch, respectively, or the equivalent by another NRSRO at the time of investment or
if such investments are unrated, deemed by J.P. Morgan Investment Management Inc. (JPMIM or the
adviser) to be of comparable quality at the time of investment.
Under normal circumstances, the Fund’s duration will not exceed one
year.
The Fund has flexibility to invest in derivatives and may
use such instruments as substitutes for securities in which the Fund can invest. Derivatives are
instruments which have a value based on another instrument, exchange rate or index. Although the
use of derivatives is not a main strategy of the Fund under normal market conditions, the Fund may use futures contracts, options, swaps, and forward contracts in connection with its principal strategies in certain market conditions
in order to hedge various investments, for risk management purposes and/or to increase income or
gain to the Fund.
The adviser allocates the Fund’s assets
among a range of sectors based on strategic positioning that focuses on factors expected to
impact returns over the long term and other tactical considerations that focus on factors that are expected to impact returns over the short to medium term. In buying and selling investments for the Fund, the adviser looks for
market sectors and individual securities that it believes will perform well over time. The
adviser selects individual securities after performing a risk/reward analysis that includes an evaluation of their characteristics including income, interest rate risk, credit risk and the complex legal and technical
structure of the transaction.
The Fund may enter into lending
agreements under which the Fund would lend money for temporary purposes directly to another J.P.
Morgan Fund through a credit facility, subject to meeting the conditions of an SEC exemptive order granted to the Fund permitting such interfund lending.
The Fund is not a money market fund and is not subject to the special regulatory requirements (including
maturity and credit quality constraints) designed to enable money market funds to maintain a
stable share price.
The Fund’s Main Investment Risks
The Fund is subject to management risk and may not achieve its objective if the adviser’s expectations
regarding particular instruments or markets are not met.
An investment in this Fund or any other fund may not provide a complete investment program. The suitability of an investment in the Fund
should be considered based on the investment objective, strategies and risks described in this prospectus, considered in light of all of the other investments in your
portfolio, as well as your risk tolerance, financial goals and time horizons. You may want to consult with a financial advisor to determine if this Fund is suitable for you.
The Fund is subject to the main risks noted below, any of which may
adversely affect the Fund’s net asset value (NAV), market price, performance and ability to meet its investment objective.
General Market Risk. Economies and financial markets throughout the world are becoming increasingly interconnected, which increases the likelihood that events or conditions in one country or region will adversely impact
markets or issuers in other countries or regions. Securities in the Fund’s portfolio may
underperform in comparison to securities in general financial markets, a particular financial
market or other asset classes due to a number of factors, including inflation (or expectations for
inflation), deflation (or expectations for deflation), interest rates, global demand for
particular products or resources, market instability, financial system instability, debt crises and
downgrades, embargoes, tariffs, trade wars, retaliatory trade measures, sanctions and other trade
barriers, supply chain disruptions, regulatory events, other governmental trade or market control
programs and related geopolitical events. In addition, the value of the Fund’s investments may be negatively affected by the occurrence of global events such as war, terrorism, environmental disasters, natural disasters
or events, country instability, and infectious disease epidemics or pandemics or the threat or
potential of one or more such factors and occurrences.
Interest Rate Risk. The Fund’s investments in bonds and other debt securities will change in value based on changes in interest rates. If rates increase, the value of these
investments generally declines. Securities with greater interest rate sensitivity and longer
maturities generally are subject to greater fluctuations in value. The Fund may invest in variable and floating rate securities. Although these instruments are generally less sensitive to interest rate changes than fixed rate instruments,
the value of variable and floating rate securities may decline if their interest rates do not
rise as quickly, or as much, as general interest rates. The Fund may face a heightened level of interest rate risk due to certain changes in monetary policy. It is difficult to predict the pace at which central banks or
monetary authorities may change interest rates or the timing, frequency, or magnitude of such
changes. Any such changes could be sudden and could expose debt markets to significant volatility and reduced liquidity for Fund investments.
Credit Risk. The Fund’s investments are subject to the risk that issuers, guarantors and/or counterparties will fail to make payments when due or default completely. Prices of
the Fund’s investments may be adversely affected if any of the issuers or counterparties it
is invested in are subject to an actual or perceived deterioration in their credit quality. Credit spreads