London-based investment manager and corporate advisory firm Fincere has announced the launch of a hedge fund targeting global emerging markets, the Fincere Emerging Markets Portfolio Fund,
London-based investment manager and corporate advisory firm Fincere has announced the launch of a hedge fund targeting global emerging markets, the Fincere Emerging Markets Portfolio Fund, with seed capital of USD20m.
The fund, which has a projected soft close target of USD250m after two years, is targeting annual returns of between 15 and 20 per cent net of fees, with a target volatility of no more than 20 per cent. The minimum investment in the fund is USD100,000.
The Fincere Emerging Markets Portfolio Fund aims to take advantage of growth trends in emerging market countries with a top-down approach to their economic outlook and secular trends, and will have a remit to invest in fixed income, commodities and derivatives.
The fund will be managed by Manuel Dopazo and Natalia Navarro. Before founding Fincere, Dopazo worked on the emerging markets desks of various New York investment banks. Navarro has extensive experience in Latin American financial markets and was director of the public debt administration in her native Venezuela.
The fund will initially target as its investor base high net worth individuals who have benefited from the commodities boom in South America. Fincere expects to roll out the fund to European and US institutional investors within the next 12 months.
‘Emerging markets represent more than 50 per cent of the world’s GDP and now hold two-thirds of the world’s foreign exchange reserves,’ Dopazo says. ‘Over the past five years they have accounted for half of the growth in world exports, and yet they still remain a minor part in the portfolio allocation of institutional and high net worth investors. We understand the underlying trends in these markets, and expect to realise the opportunities they offer with the launch of the Emerging Markets Portfolio Fund.’
The fund services division of LaSalle Global Trust Services in Dublin, owned by Bank of America following its acquisition of LaSalle Bank from ABN Amro last October, is administrator to the fund.
‘LaSalle Global Trust Services offered a technological platform and service that perfectly suited our requirements with the challenging requirements of this fund,’ Dopazo says. ‘LaSalle’s experience with hedge funds and their expertise in alternative investments made them stand out from their competitors, as did the quality of their service.’
