Ignis renames and overhauls Smith's EM fund

Ignis has revamped its Emerging Markets fund to allow the manager to take whole country bets rather than single stock positions.

The group has also renamed the fund Emerging Markets Select Value. The portfolio will retain its value-driven strategy but, with immediate effect following investor approval, will allocate to countries deemed most attractive using ETFs, index trackers and swaps. All 22 countries in the MSCI Emerging Market Free index, as well as three other frontier markets, will be screened using Ignis' quantitative Market and Sector Allocation Model (MASAM). This looks at criteria such as macro, earnings, momentum and quality. James Smith, head of global funds and asset allocation, will continue ...