Emerging Markets Debt Fund

Investment Objective

Risk-adjusted returns

Fund Characteristics

The William Blair Emerging Markets Debt Fund seeks to provide attractive risk-adjusted returns relative to the Fund's benchmark.

Investment Approach

  • Invests in a diversified portfolio of debt instruments issued by government or corporate issuers in developing countries.
  • The majority of investments are in South and Central America (including the Caribbean), Central Europe, Eastern Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Middle East.
  • Seeks to invest in countries where we can assess specific political, economic and ESG-related risks.
  • ESG analysis is fully integrated into our disciplined investment process. Based on multiple ESG factors, our portfolio managers and analysts develop a proprietary ESG score for each issuer, which helps inform our risk-management approach.

Why Consider This Fund?

  • The historical yield advantage of emerging markets debt over developed markets debt provides the potential for attractive risk-adjusted returns.
  • A combination of bottom-up and top-down expertise deepens our understanding of performance drivers, improving the decision making process.
  • The breadth of the team allows for specialization and regional focus, enhancing our ability to identify opportunities and to avoid unattractive risks.

 

The Fund involves a high level of risk and may not be appropriate for everyone. The Fund's return will vary, and you could lose money by investing in the Fund. Investing in the bond market is subject to certain risks including market, interest rate, issuer, credit, and inflation risk. Rising interest rates generally cause bond prices to fall. Sovereign debt securities are subject to the risk that an entity may delay or refuse to pay interest or principal on its sovereign debt because of cash flow problems, insufficient foreign reserves, or political or other considerations. High–yield, lower–rated, securities involve greater risk than higher–rated securities; portfolios that invest in them may be subject to greater levels of credit and liquidity risk than portfolios that do not. Investing in foreign denominated and/or domiciled securities may involve heightened risk due to currency fluctuations, and economic and political risks. These risks may be enhanced in emerging markets. Derivatives may be subject to certain risks such as leveraging, liquidity, interest rate, credit, counterparty, management and the risk of mispricing or improper valuation. The Fund is non-diversified and may be more susceptible to adverse developments affecting any single issuer held by the Fund.