First State poaches F&C's Williamson for launch of EM debt arm

First State Investments has made a move into the onshore fixed income space with the launch of a London-based emerging markets team, led by ex-F&C manager Helene Williamson.

Williamson will manage the first UK-domiciled debt strategy for the firm, which is best known for its giant emerging markets and specialist equity funds.

Reporting to Gary Withers, regional managing director for EMEA, Williamson will head a team of four specialists based in London, and two based in Hong Kong.

The former are new joiners to the firm and the latters members of the existing global fixed interest and credit team.

First State said it sees strong investment prospects in emerging market debt in the next ten years and plans to launch two funds in this area in the coming months.

Williamson, who will take on the role in early September, joins from F&C Asset Management, where she has been head of emerging markets debt for 15 years and head of fixed income for five.

The group already manages over £28bn of equity assets in its Asian Pacific and EM offering, while it runs a £33bn strategy in the fixed interest space across its Australian and Hong Kong fund range.

Up to now, First State has only offered equity funds in the UK, adding specialist products to its range in the last decade including resources, infrastructure, property and agribusiness funds.

"Our group is a leading emerging markets asset manager and this is our first step in the development of our skill set in emerging markets debt and building on our existing investment expertise in fixed income," Withers said.

"Helene's appointment marks a significant expansion of our capabilities for investors in Europe, the Middle East, Asia and potentially other parts of the world.

"Initially we will be focusing on 'vanilla' EM products, which means hard currency debts in two forms, the government issues and the state-linked sovereign issues. Then we will develop the more corporate-high yielding element of the asset class more gradually."