Baring Asset Management has launched its third long/short equity hedge fund, the Baring EMEA Absolute Return Fund. The fund, an open-end...

Baring Asset Management has launched its third long/short equity hedge fund, the Baring EMEA Absolute Return Fund. The fund, an open-ended investment company authorised in Ireland, and will aim to add alpha while providing a degree of downside protection. It will be managed by Marina Akopian. Prior to joining BAM Ms Akopian was an investment manager at Rexiter Capital Management, a specialist emerging markets subsidiary of State Street Global Advisors. Prior to that, she spent five years at Pictet where she specialized in Russian and Eastern European debt and equity. “The EMEA markets are among the fastest growing economies in the world with GDP growth rates estimated to be around 4.5 per cent per annum for the next ten years, compared with an expected average of 2 per cent per annum for the EU15 countries,” said Ms Akopian. BAM manages over $2 billion in assets dedicated to emerging European mandates and has five EMEA specialist fund managers.