HSBC Investments has launched a Russian equity fund. It is managed by Halbis, the active management specialist of the HSBC group. The lead manager is Douglas Helfer. HSBC GIF Russia Equity is a subfund of HSBC’s flagship Luxembourg-based global investment funds SICAV range, which is available for sale in 35 countries throughout the world and has UK distributor status. Retail and institutional share classes are available at minimum investment levels of $5,000 and $1 million respectively. The fund launched on 17 December 2007 and is now in the process of being registered for sale throughout the world. The new fund holds a concentrated portfolio of 20-30 stocks which could include locally-listed Russian equities, American Depository Receipts and Global Depository Receipts. The majority of assets are invested in large liquid blue chip stocks though up to a third of the portfolio could be invested in mid cap companies. Mr Helfer constructs the portfolio through bottom-up stock picking and takes an unconstrained approach to sector allocation. He said: “Over the past few years, Russian stocks have delivered a good return. However, despite their rapid rise, Russian equities still remain attractively valued and amongst the cheapest of the emerging markets.”