Ashmore Investment Management said Thursday it had received SEC approval for five mutual funds investing in emerging-market debt in the United States.
The group, based in Britain, says the funds will invest in sovereign debt, local currencies and corporate debt in emerging-market economies, which include potential for currency appreciation and higher yields, relative to their developed market counterparts.
The Goldman Sachs Emerging Market Debt I Fund (GSDIX), for instance, is up 13% this year and about 9% on average for the past five years, according to Morningstar. (It has a minimum investment level of $10 million and $658 million in assets.)
Ashmore says the five funds will initially be available through an institutional shares and later retail shares.
The company says that presently some 87% of its $41.6 billion of assets under management are owned by institutional investors, including central banks, public and corporate pensions and insurance companies.