Amundi has launched its first emerging balanced sub-fund, the Amundi Funds Multi Asset Emerging Markets vehicle.

Invested mainly in direct securities, this sub-fund of the Luxembourg Sicav Amundi Funds aims to offer investors a global investment solution where they can benefit from the growth potential of emerging economies, both for equities and bonds, the firm said.

It also aims to outperform its reference indicator, (60 per cent MSCI Emerging Markets and 40 per cent JPM EMBI Global Diversified) over a minimum investment horizon of five years while striving to maintain volatility lower than that of the index.

“Local debt markets in emerging countries have recently started to expand so as to meet growing needs for financing. The market share of emerging equities, which are hardly represented in global indices, will grow as these economies become more sophisticated,” said Marie-Aude Laurent, fund manager of Amundi Funds Multi Asset Emerging Markets.

Making the most

To make the most of the momentum in the equity and bonds markets, the fund manager applies a flexible and active management strategy, which involves defining the macroeconomic scenario, analysing financial markets and taking into account bottom-up factors for  equities and momentum for bonds, during bond/equity allocation.

The proportion of the equity and bond pockets in the portfolio varies significantly, ranging from 20 per cent to 80 per cent, therefore offering great flexibility and making it possible to benefit from market upturns while limiting the impact of downward trends, the firm added.

As at the end of December 2012, Amundi Funds has more than €18.3 billion ($23.9 billion) in assets under management and a total of 67 sub-funds. Across the Amundi business as a whole, it has almost €750 million of client assets, making it the second biggest firm of its kind in Europe. Amundi is a joint venture of French banking groups Societe Generale and Crédit Agricole.