Schroders to launch Asian small cap fund for Dobbs

Schroders is launching an Asian smaller companies fund for its top performing manager Matthew Dobbs, which will invest in companies across Asia and the emerging markets.

Investment Week understands the Schroder Small Cap Discovery fund will come to market in the second quarter.

Schroders said the fund will aim to achieve capital growth through investing in smaller companies across Asia and the emerging markets.

However, it will not exclusively invest there, with the fund also having exposure to stocks listed in developed markets.

Dobbs, the group's head of Global & International Small Cap Equities, will use a bottom-up process on the fund to invest in quality growth companies.

The manager already heads up the group's £180m Asian Alpha Plus fund, which has delivered top quartile performance over the last three years.

The vehicle has returned 129% over the period, beating the IMA Asia Pacific Ex Japan sector average of 76.3%.