A new fund has been launched by New York asset managerNeuberger Berman Group in line with the trend towards capitalising on the burgeoning Greater China market.

The privately held, employee-controlled independent money manager is launching the Greater China equity fund to take advantage of the increasing prosperity of both Chinese companies and businesses that derive much of their income from China. The fund is a sub-fund of Neuberger Berman Investment Funds, a Dublin-domiciled UCITS III fund structure, and will be available to the firm's European clients.

“A rapidly growing middle class, an increase in higher value-added exports, large scale investment in infrastructure and technology and increased liberalisation of foreign investment are driving equity market growth in the Greater China economy,” said Mr Yao, a managing director at Neuberger Berman Asia and co-manager of the Greater China Equity fund.

The fund is targeted at institutional investors and intermediaries in the UK, Europe and the Middle East and its managers are keen to invest in companies that can profit from rising Chinese consumption and deepening investments in the country’s infrastructure.

Yulin (Frank) Yao and Lihui Tang manage the Hong Kong-based fund with support from a research team in Shanghai.  Mr Yao was previously the chief investment officer of Hua An Fund Management with oversight of around $7 billion in assets; Mr Tang was a portfolio manager at the same company and managed approximately $1 billion in assets.