Kansas City, Mo.-based Scout Investments has launched the Scout Emerging Markets Fund (SEMFX), becoming one of the latest new funds seeking to capitalize on growing investor interest in emerging market plays.
The new fund will carry a net expense ratio of 140 basis points, and is managed by Mark Weber, the lead portfolio manager for the fund. It will bet on between 35 and 50 companies that it identifies as likely beneficiaries of multi-year trends in emerging market growth and maturation. These trends can include a rising middle class, increasing consumer and health care spending, infrastructure expansion, factory automation and expanding mobile phone usage.
“As active managers, we will look for company-specific opportunities and will not determine sector and country weightings by referring to a benchmark,” Weber said, adding the fund will exclude state-controlled enterprises.
Scout Investments, along with its fixed income division, Reams Asset Management, holds more than $22 billion in assets under management.
