Speakers and topics

Dazzling in the ring: how EM smaller Companies can produce knockout results

abrdn Emerging Markets Smaller Companies Fund

Osamu will explore the benefits of an allocation to EM smaller companies: diversification, risk reduction and outperformance potential. The lack of sell-side coverage creates a great opportunity for active managers and abrdn's quality-focused investment approach, combined with a strong regional presence, has delivered superior returns for clients over time.

Investment director, global emerging markets equities
abrdn

Osamu is an investment director on the global emerging markets equity team at abrdn. He joined the company in 2007.

How not to invest in emerging markets 

Global Emerging Markets strategy

Naren, co-manager of the FSSA Global Emerging Markets Focus Fund, and Angus, investment analyst, discuss how to navigate investing in emerging markets. They will cover the importance of understanding that franchises may not be all they appear and why governance, sustainability, financials and valuations are not to be ignored.

Senior analyst
FSSA Investment Managers

Naren joined FSSA Investment Managers in 2014 and is responsible for providing research support to the portfolio managers, with a focus on the Indian subcontinent markets in particular and global emerging market equities in general. He is also the co-manager of the FSSA Global Emerging Markets strategy.

Investment analyst
FSSA Investment Managers

Angus joined FSSA Investment Managers as a graduate in 2019 and is responsible for providing support to the portfolio managers covering Asia Pacific equities and global emerging markets. He also has a particular interest in responsible investment.

Income investing in emerging markets

Guinness Emerging Markets Equity Income Fund

Dividend investing has powerful advantages when accessing the diversification and growth that emerging markets offer. As in other regions, dividends provide a strong signal as to the underlying health of emerging market companies. Income, under the fund's approach, is the output of a successful, high-quality company that is generating cash. Mark will explain why this process has successfully steered the portfolio to a part of the market that delivers a particular type of return profile to the end investor.

Portfolio manager
Guinness Global Investors

Mark joined Guinness in 2012 and is the portfolio manager on the Guinness Emerging Markets Equity Income Fund. Prior to joining Guinness, he worked at Ernst & Young.

Responsible returns in a multi-polar world

Polar Capital Emerging Market Stars Fund

Jorry, lead fund manager on the Polar Capital Emerging Market Stars Fund, will share his outlook for emerging market economies in a year when over half the world’s population will have the chance to vote. He will walk through how the fund is positioned, in light of what could be an inflection point for interest rates in key geographies, and will discuss where the team is seeing opportunities across emerging markets.

Lead fund manager
Polar Capital

Jorry joined Polar Capital in 2018 to set up the Polar Capital emerging markets growth franchise. Prior to joining, he worked at various firms including Nordea Investment Management, Danske Capital, F&C IM, New Star AM and BankInvest AM.

Hunting for alpha in emerging economies

Ashoka Whiteoak Emerging Markets

Loong will explore the merits of a balanced, diversified and fundamental approach to investing in the emerging markets. He will elaborate on how having a well-resourced team can be a material differentiator when hunting for ideas in Smid cap’s and how Whiteoak’s balanced portfolio construction approach helps cut through the macro noise to allow stock selection to drive returns.

Investment director
White Oak Capital Management

Loong Lim joined Whiteoak as an investment director in 2022. He began his career in 2012 at M&G Investments in London with the global emerging markets team. While there, he ran an internal China fund and was named deputy fund manager on the M&G Asia ex-Japan fund.