The Allianz Emerging Markets Flexible Bond Fund aims to capitalise on the expansion potential of emerging markets and give investors superior returns than those associated with developed markets.
The fund is part of the AllianzGI Emerging Markets Debt franchise that was launched in October 2013.
The EMD team will combine top-down country analysis with bottom-up credit research to construct portfolios in Latin America, Asia and central and Eastern Europe. It stands out from existing Allianz EMD funds as it invests across the full EMD spectrum, including companies and countries of any credit rating or currency, while the others focus on specific subsets.
Greg Saichin, chief investment officer at Allianz’s EMD business will head the fund. It is already open to institutional investors in the UK, and is to become available to retail investors later this year.
Saichin said: “We firmly believe that strong economic growth prospects, favourable demographics and markedly improving fundamentals mean that emerging markets debt is set to perform over the longer-term, despite any liquidity risk from a rise in US interest rates or country-specific geo-political tensions.”
Nick Smith, head of European retail sales (ex-Germany), said: “This is an asset class where experience really counts. With no two emerging markets the same, our regional teams are able to act in clients’ interests in local time, using their skilled, experienced eyes to unlock the very best buying opportunities.”
The SICAV fund is domiciled in Luxembourg and is available through the Allianz Global Investors Fund vehicle.
