Jupiter has appointed an Asian income specialist as fund manager to launch its new Jupiter Asian Income Fund.

Jason Pidcock will manage the Jupiter Asian Income Fund, which will aim to offer diversification across the Asia Pacific region, investing predominantly in developed markets including Australia, New Zealand and Singapore (excluding Japan).

The fund is set to launch in February 2016 and will seek an income and capital growth over the long term, with a large cap bias.

Mr Piddock who has over 20 years’ experience investing in Asia and has joined Jupiter from Newton Investment Management where he focused on managing income-orientated assets in Asian markets.

At Newton he managed the £4.4bn Newton Asian Income Fund, delivering a return of 64% over the past five years compared with 35.9% for the IMA Asia Pacific Ex Japan sector average.

Mr Pidcock has previously held the position of assistant fund manager at Henderson Asset Management as well as roles at BP Investment Management where he was responsible for stock selection and asset allocation in the Asia ex-Japan region.

Stephen Pearson, chief investment officer at Jupiter, said: “Jason’s investment pedigree needs little introduction. His deep and specialised knowledge of Asian equities and high-conviction approach should perfectly complement our existing skillset in this area. We are delighted to welcome him to Jupiter.”

Mr Pidcock said: “In my opinion Jupiter offers investors access to a wealth of experience and talent, and I am very much looking forward to working alongside so many highly experienced colleagues both on the Asian and emerging markets teams, and across the broader investment teams at Jupiter.”