BlackRock’s Landers targets Peru

Following the election of president Humala, Mr Landers has shifted from an underweight position in the region to neutral, and will look to invest more in the coming months.

Mr Landers said that as a result of feeling more comfortable with the new the administration he had bought into Peru’s “leading” bank, Banco de Credito.

This was funded by exiting Mexican housebuilders and reducing exposure to Banco Itau, following disappointing Q2 results.

He said: “It is important to focus on the strong long term story and to remember that although they have been among the weakest performers in 2011, Latin American economies are not affected by the same government solvency concerns that often apply elsewhere.”

The vehicle posted a 17.2 per cent decline in its net asset value and a share price fall of 14.3 per cent as at the end of September. This compares with a 13.7 per cent loss from the MSCI EM latin America index.

The manager attributes the underperformance to being underweight on Columbia and overweight Brazil - which remains the fund’s largest position at 72 per cent.

However, he remains upbeat on the future prospects. “Brazil continues to be a compelling investment story - it has a growing middle class, record low levels of unemployment and ambitious infrastructure investment program.”