Fund Evaluator:
JPMorgan Emerging Markets Debt A (JEDAX)
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Best Performing in Emerging Markets Bond Over the Last Year
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Fund Details
JPMorgan Emerging Markets Debt A Overview
JPMorgan Emerging Markets Debt A (JEDAX) is an actively managed Taxable Bond Emerging Markets Bond fund. JPMorgan launched the fund in 2006.
The investment seeks high total return from a portfolio of fixed income securities of emerging markets issuers. The fund normally invests at least 80% of the value of its assets in emerging market debt investments. It invests primarily in debt securities that the adviser believes have the potential to provide a high total return from countries whose economies or bond markets are less developed. The fund does not have any minimum quality rating and may invest without limit in securities that are rated below investment grade (commonly known as junk bonds) or the unrated equivalent.
About JPMorgan Emerging Markets Debt A (JEDAX)
There are 5 members of the management team with an average tenure of 6.23 years: Pierre-Yves Bareau (2009), Emil Babayev (2016), Turker Hamzaoglu (2025), Andrew Bartlett (2025), Nick Eisinger (2025). Management tenure is more important for actively managed funds than passive index funds.
The fund has 2 primary benchmarks: Bloomberg Global Aggregate TR USD index with a weighting of 100% and JPM EMBI Global Diversified TR USD index with a weighting of 100%. JPMorgan Emerging Markets Debt A has 305 securities in its portfolio. The top 10 holdings constitute 14.2% of the fund’s assets. The fund meets the SEC requirement of being classified as a diversified fund. The fund is not considered to have an ESG focus with its investment selection and management.
JPMorgan Emerging Markets Debt A is part of the Fixed Income global asset class and is within the Taxable Bond fund group. JPMorgan Emerging Markets Debt A has 95.3% of its portfolio invested in foreign issues. The overall assets allocated to domestic stock is 0.0%. There is 0.0% allocated to foreign stock, and 0.0% is allocated to preferred stocks. The bond allocation as a percentage of total assets is 95.7% (0.4% domestic bond, 95.3% foreign bond and 0.0% convertible bond). JPMorgan Emerging Markets Debt A has 4.3% of the portfolio in cash.
Assets Under Management
The fund has $41 million in total assets, which is below the $325 million average for the Emerging Markets Bond category. Normally, lower assets under management translates to higher average expense ratios, and greater total assets are desired. However, for some investment categories, such as small-cap investing, it may be difficult for the manager to fully employ the desired active strategy if assets grow too large or too quickly.
JEDAX Performance and Fees
The expense ratio measures how much of a fund’s assets are used for administrative expenses and operating expenses, including adviser fees and fees for the transfer agent and custodial services. The JPMorgan Emerging Markets Debt A expense ratio is high compared to funds in the Emerging Markets Bond category. JPMorgan Emerging Markets Debt A has an expense ratio of 1.05%, which is 4% higher than its category average, making the fund expense ratio grade a D. While it is difficult to predict returns, it is known that high annual expense ratios reduce your rate of return, and excessive fees are difficult to overcome. Active management normally comes with higher expense ratios than passive index management. Certain investment categories such as small company and foreign also normally have higher expense ratios. It is best to compare fund expense ratios against the category averages for meaningful assessments.
High portfolio turnover can translate to higher expenses and lower aftertax returns. JPMorgan Emerging Markets Debt A has a portfolio turnover rate of 121%, indicating that holds its assets around 0.0 years. By way of comparison, the average portfolio turnover is 83% for the Emerging Markets Bond category.
Recently, in the month of July 2026, JPMorgan Emerging Markets Debt A returned -1.4%, which earned it a grade of D, as the Emerging Markets Bond category had an average return of -0.9%. The letter grades of A, B, C, D and F are based upon relative rankings within the investment category. A grade of A, for example, would indicate that the return is in the highest 20% for that time period compared to all funds in that category.
JPMorgan Emerging Markets Debt A has a trailing yield of 6.26%, which is above the 5.99% category average. The fund normally distributes its income monthly and its capital gains annually.
It’s natural to seek the best-performing investments, but you must consider the relationship between risk and return and the impact of costs and taxes on your realized returns.
JPMorgan Emerging Markets Debt A Grades
Year to date, the fund has returned 2.3%, 0.2 percentage points worse than the category, which translates into a grade of B. The fund has returned 9.9% over the past year (grade of B), 9.3% over the past three years (grade of C) and 1.7% per year over the past five years (grade of F) and 2.7% per year over the past 10 years (grade of F).
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JEDAX Trailing NAV Total Returns Data as of 7/31/26
| Last Month |
Last Quarter |
Ann'l. 1Yr |
Ann'l. 3Yr |
Ann'l. 5Yr |
Ann'l. 10Yr |
|
| JEDAX Return (NAV) | -1.4% | 0.5% | 9.9% | 9.3% | 1.7% | 2.7% |
| JEDAX Grade | D | C | B | C | F | F |
| +/- Category | -0.5% | -0.2% | 0.9% | 0.2% | -1.1% | -0.9% |
| Emerging Markets Bond Avg | -0.9% | 0.6% | 9.0% | 9.1% | 2.8% | 3.6% |
| JEDAX Tax Cost Ratio | na | na | 2.5% | 2.5% | 2.3% | 2.0% |
JEDAX Annual NAV Total ReturnsData as of 7/31/26
| 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | |
| JEDAX Return (NAV) | 2.3% | 14.1% | 7.1% | 9.9% | -18.8% | -3.5% | 5.1% | 13.8% | -6.1% | 9.9% | 8.5% |
| JEDAX Grade | B | C | C | D | F | D | C | C | D | D | F |
| +/- Category | -0.2% | 0.3% | 0.8% | -1.7% | -4.0% | -0.6% | -0.4% | 0.6% | -0.7% | -1.4% | -3.4% |
| Emerging Markets Bond Avg | 2.5% | 13.8% | 6.4% | 11.6% | -14.9% | -2.9% | 5.5% | 13.1% | -5.4% | 11.2% | 11.9% |
| Risk Measures | |
| Standard Deviation: | 7.0% |
| Total Risk Index: | 0.57 - Below Average |
| Category Risk Index: | 1.11 - High |
| Category Risk Grade: | F (82% Rank) |
| Beta: | 1.05 |
| R-Squared: | 70% |
| Leveraged Fund: | No |
| Inverse Fund: | No |
| Portfolio Characteristics | |
| Equity Investment Style: | na |
| Bond Investment Style: | High Quality Extensive Sensitivity |
| Yield: | 6.3% |
| Dividend Distribution: | Monthly |
| Cap Gains Distribution: | Annually |
| Total Assets: | $966 Mil |
| Fund Total Assets: | $ 42 Mil |
| Share Class Type: | A |
| Portfolio Turnover: | 121% |
Management Team
| Number of Managers: 5 | |||
| Longest Tenure: 16.8 years | |||
| Average Tenure: 6.2 years | |||
| Managers (Year): Bareau Pierre-Yves (2009), Babayev Emil (2016), Hamzaoglu Turker (2025), Bartlett Andrew (2025), Eisinger Nick (2025) | |||
Portfolio Composition (as of 6/30/26)
| # of Holdings: | 305 |
| % in Top 10 Holdings: | 14.2% |
| Fund is Non-Diversified: | No |
| % in Foreign Issues: | 95.3% |
Portfolio Allocation |
|
| Domestic Stock: | 0.0% |
| Foreign Stock: | 0.0% |
| Preferred Stock: | 0.0% |
| Domestic Bond: | 0.4% |
| Foreign Bond: | 95.3% |
| Convertible Bond: | 0.0% |
| Other: | 0.0% |
| Cash: | 4.3% |
Purchase Information
| Fund Family: | JPMorgan |
| Phone Number: | 800-480-4111 |
| Website: | www.jpmorganfunds.com |
| Status: | Open |
| Inception Date: | June 30, 2006 |
| Min. Initial Purchase: | $1,000 |
| Min. Initial IRA Purchase: | $ 0 |
| True No-Load: | No |
| Front Load Maximum: | 3.75% |
| Deferred Charge Maximum: | 0.00% |
| Redemption Charge Maximum: | 0.00% |
| 12b-1 Fee: | 0.25% |
Expenses and Fees | |
| Expense Ratio (%): | 1.05% ( Rating : High ) |
| Category Average Expense Ratio (%): | 1.01% |
| Share Class: | JPMorgan Emerging Markets Debt I |
| Min. Subsequent Purchase: | $ 50 |
| Min. Subsequent IRA Purchase: | $ 0 |
