Danske Invest launches an Emerging and Frontier Markets fund

"Despite the recent financial market turbulence – among other things due to concerns about growth in China – we assess that, over time, the economic growth in emerging and frontier markets will continue to exceed growth rates in developed markets, and that the middle classes in these markets will grow significantly," says Antti Raappana, chief portfolio manager for Danske Invest Emerging and Frontier Markets.

"We believe that the future growth and increasing consumption will especially promote investments in the domestic sectors, for the benefit of local small- and mid-cap companies, which can thus become tomorrow's large-cap companies," he adds.

The fund invests locally in more than 25 countries from emerging and frontier markets, and is structured with a local portfolio manager situated in each of the current nine regions.

"This means that we are present in the local markets, with portfolio managers who have local knowledge of the individual companies and the local and regional development," says Antti Raappana.

The countries invested in include among other the Philippines, Thailand, South Africa, Mauritius, India, Hong Kong and Peru.

The investment strategy in the individual regions is primarily aimed at reaping the benefits of the domestic growth in the individual country/region. The fund will invest in companies which the local portfolio manager assesses to have long-term growth potential, or if the company's share price is assessed to be considerably lower than the company's value would indicate, Antti Raappana explains.

As chief portfolio manager for the entire fund, he decides how much of the fund is invested in the individual regions.

"The advantage is that this gives us good risk diversification and we can also take account of the shifting economic cycles in the various regions," Antti Raappana says. 

For more information about the fund, please contact Henrik Rye Petersen, Head of Global Financial Institutions,  +45 25 28 59 13