BNP Paribas Asset Management (BNPP AM) has launched a new Emerging Markets Equity mutual fund that will have exposure to South African equities.
 
The BNPP AM Emerging Markets Equity Fund seeks long-term capital appreciation by investing in quality companies at a compelling price over a long-term investment horizon. 

Relative performance is driven by bottom-up stock selection through systematic management of macro risks. 

The Funds’s focus will be on quality resilient business models, coupled with a three-tiered approach to growth investments, resulting in a diversified performance profile. 

The approach is designed to provide ample downside mitigation with the potential to outperform in most market environments. 
 
The lead portfolio manager is Quang Nguyen, Head of Global Emerging Market Equities, who has over 19 years of investment experience and manages the fund from BNPP AM’s Boston office. 

Quang leads a dedicated seven-member investment team who oversee a total of USD $1.2 billion in assets under the same strategy as of June 30, 2018.  
 
Nguyen said: “Our team is very excited to enter into the US mutual fund space with the launch of our Emerging Markets Equity Fund. This favorable investment opportunity in emerging markets equity, which gained popularity at the beginning of the century, still exists today, but with a risk profile that has been converging with developed markets on several fronts.”

“We believe this new fund provides a viable investment solution for U.S. investors who want to capture this opportunity, with the diligence and care of an experienced team to hand select the highest quality businesses globally,” he added.
 
The BNPP AM Emerging Market Equity Fund is actively-managed and features competitive initial net expense ratios of 0.75% for institutional shares; 0.90% for investor shares; and 1.15% for retail shares.

This Fund joins the firm’s suite of recently launched mutual funds including: the Emerging Markets Total Return Fixed Income fund (launched Dec 2017) and the US Small Cap Equity fund (launched Jan 2018).
 
“These mutual funds are a natural step in the growth of our US capabilities and offer a practical and cost-efficient way to assist investors in building an actively-managed diversified portfolio. All three of our recently launched funds address both institutional and retail investors’ needs while meeting a growing demand for more flexible vehicles which leverage our specific areas of expertise in critical areas such as emerging markets,” said Daniel Klein, CEO of BNP Paribas Asset Management North America.
 
BNPP AM said it will be launching additional mutual funds in the coming months.