Lazard to soft-close EM funds and launch new vehicle

Lazard Asset Management plans to soft-close James Donald's Emerging Markets funds and launch a new growth-orientated GEMs product.

Donald's value-based Emerging Markets strategy, which has UK and Dublin versions, has about $28bn of global assets and Lazard plans to introduce the capacity management in 60 to 90 days to protect existing clients and ensure the manager can continue run the product effectively. The group also intends to launch a new growth-orientated emerging markets fund to UK clients, which will replicate the strategy launched by the group in the US in 2008. Subject to regulatory approval, the Lazard Developing Markets Equity fund will launch to UK clients later in the year and be run by Kevin O'Har...