Thornburg Investment Management, distributor for Thornburg Global Investment plc, has launched the Developing World Fund, the newest addition to its range of UCITS funds domiciled in Ireland.
The Developing World Fund, managed by Lewis Kaufman, seeks long-term capital appreciation by investing in developing market companies with strong domestic demand. These types of companies are in a better position to take advantage of emerging market growth in consumer income, spending and consumption.
Kaufman is a managing director within the equity team of Thornburg Investment Management.
“The strategy has an unconstrained approach, and invests in quality companies with an emphasis on end-markets exposure rather than country of domicile,” says Kaufman. “We try to identify promising companies levered to domestic demand trends in the emerging markets. We also seek to limit external vulnerability at both the stock and currency level, by investing in financially-sound, free-cash flow generative companies in countries with a favourable balance of payment dynamics.”
As with all Thornburg equity funds, the Developing World strategy takes a bottom-up, research-driven approach, targeting quality companies with strong balance sheets, rather than focusing on macro-driven trends. Kaufman seeks companies with ample free cash flow that won’t need to rely on the stock or bond markets for funding during periods of economic distress.
The Developing World strategy was launched as a US mutual fund in December 2009 and is rated five-stars by Morningstar. This US-based mutual fund currently has over USD725m in total net assets, as of 31 May 2013. The investment credentials and performance of this strategy are attracting interest from professional investors both in the United States and internationally.
“We are pleased to offer the Developing World equity strategy to our global clients and investors, in addition to our existing UCITS funds,” says Peter Trevisani, a managing director of Thornburg Investment Management and president of Thornburg Global Advisors. “We specialise in global strategies, so expanding our funds to overseas clients is a natural progression for us.”
