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William Blair Funds Introduce Emerging Leaders Growth Fund We are very pleased to announce our newest William Blair Fund offering. It’s called the William Blair Emerging Leaders Growth Fund , and it will commence operations on March 26, 2008.
The William Blair Emerging Leaders Growth Fund invests in a diversified portfolio of equity securities issued by growth companies in emerging markets worldwide. It seeks long-term capital appreciation.
Emerging Leaders Growth Fund Investment Approach
- The Emerging Leaders Growth Fund will invest in mid and large capitalization companies, which William Blair currently defines as those companies with a market capitalization of at least $5 billion at the time of the Fund’s initial investment.
- The Fund will seek well-managed companies with superior business fundamentals, including global leadership in product quality or cost competitiveness, dominant or improving market position within a growing or local or regional economy, and sustainable above-average and/or increasing returns on invested capital.
- The Fund may invest in new companies, both through initial public offerings (“IPOs”) and private placements.
- The Fund will normally be invested in at least six different countries. The Fund’s sector and geographic diversification will vary, based on the ongoing evaluation of economic, market and political trends throughout the world.
- Currently, emerging markets include every other country in the world other than the United States, Canada, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Singapore and most Western European countries.
Proven Management The William Blair Emerging Leaders Growth Fund will be managed by Jeffrey Urbina, one of the co-managers of the Emerging Markets Growth Fund, and the manager of the International Small Cap Growth Fund.
Jeff, a CFA, and Principal of William Blair & Company, joined the Firm’s Investment Management Department in 1996 as part of the International Growth Team. He oversees small cap and emerging markets strategy and research and is the lead portfolio manager for the William Blair international small cap growth and emerging markets portfolios, including the William Blair International Small Cap Growth Fund and the William Blair Emerging Markets Growth Fund. Previously, he was a Senior Vice President and Portfolio Manager of the Van Kampen American Capital Navigator Fund, an emerging market equity fund listed on the Luxembourg exchange. While at Van Kampen, he also served as the Director of Research and was a member of the Investment Policy Committee for the firm. Prior to joining Van Kampen in 1991, Jeff spent almost 15 years in the commercial banking business with Citibank where he was a Vice President and Senior Relationship Manager in the bank’s real estate group, and with Harris Bank in Chicago where he was an International Banking Officer. Jeff earned a B.A. from Northwestern University, and an M.M from Northwestern University’s Kellogg Graduate School of Management.
We invite you to find out more about the William Blair Emerging Leaders Growth Fund
View the William Blair Emerging Leaders Growth Fund Prospectus
International investing involves special risk considerations, including currency fluctuations, lower liquidity, economic and political risk. Investing in emerging markets can increase these risks.
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