Mobius to unveil open-ended ESG emerging markets fund as he is joined by ex-colleagues Hardenberg and Konieczny

Set up Mobius Capital Partners in March

Emerging markets veteran Mark Mobius has confirmed the appointment of former Franklin Templeton managers Carlos Hardenberg and Greg Konieczny at his new firm Mobius Capital Partners with the intention of launching a highly-concentrated, ESG- focused, emerging markets fund in the first half of 2018, subject to regulatory approvals.

The open-ended SICAV, which is awaiting approval from Luxembourg authorities, will have no more than 30 stocks in the best ideas portfolio investing in emerging and frontier markets and, as a result, will be capped at $1bn. It has already been seeded by the partners and selected investors. Hardenberg told Investment Week it will "champion the dominance of ESG in an undiluted way", while the team work with companies in emerging markets to improve their environmental, social and corporate governance. He explained: "As a part of our global strategy at Franklin Templeton, we always had a ...