The fund, which will be co-managed by Nick Williams and Colin Riddles, will invest in European smaller companies, including firms based in the UK, and will be benchmarked against the MSCI Europe Small Cap index.
Nick Williams, Barings’ head of small cap equities, said: “We see a very positive environment for smaller companies in Europe and the UK. There are clear investment opportunities which, given our strong experience in the asset class and proven investment process, we will aim to realise for the fund.
“Smaller companies have outperformed large-cap stocks in four of the past five years, while our analysis shows having the UK in a European investment universe can reduce investment risk by adding diversification.”
Fund details
Ucits fund, domiciled in Ireland
Minimum investment for retail share class €3,500 or local currency equivalent
AMC: 1.5 per cent
Share class for institutional investors available.
IFA VERDICT: CARL LAMB, DIRECTOR OF NORWICH-BASED IFA ALMARY GREEN INVESTMENTS
“That’s quite a risk going into European small and medium-size companies. The thing to do would be to let the fund go for a while. I certainly wouldn’t invest straight away.”
