The latest news in investment offerings, financial products and other services relevant to wealth advisors and their clients.

William Blair Investment Management
Chicago-headquartered William Blair Investment Management (WBIM) has launched the William Blair Emerging Markets Debt Hard Currency (EMD HC) SICAV Fund in Taiwan, reinforcing its commitment to Asia and addressing investor appetite for diversified, high-yielding fixed-income solutions.

This marks William Blair’s second SICAV registered in Taiwan, following the launch of the US Small-Mid Cap Growth SICAV Fund in November 2024. The expansion underscores WBIM’s long-term strategy of offering institutional-grade, actively managed strategies tailored to the evolving needs of investors across the region.

As a global investment management partnership, WBIM works with private and public pension funds, insurance companies, endowments, foundations, sovereign wealth funds, fund of funds managers and financial advisors.

The fund aims to deliver risk-adjusted returns by investing in hard currency-denominated sovereign and quasi-sovereign debt issued by emerging market economies.

“Economic data shows that emerging markets exhibit stronger growth and improving debt metrics despite global uncertainties. With a proven track record in hard currency EM debt, William Blair is well positioned to help investors capture these opportunities,” said Lih-Yann Tan, CEO of William Blair International (Singapore) and head of Asian distribution for WBIM. â€śFor investors in Taiwan looking for yield and income, the EMD HC benchmark is currently yielding more than 7.9 per cent. Our William Blair Emerging Markets Debt Hard Currency SICAV typically seeks to maintain a yield advantage over the index, which we believe has the potential to deliver stronger total returns than the index over the investment cycle.” 

The fund is managed by Marcelo Assalin, partner and head of the emerging markets debt team at William Blair, alongside Marco Ruijer, partner.

“With valuations now more attractive and fundamentals intact, we believe emerging markets debt offers one of the most compelling risk-reward profiles across global fixed income,” Assalin continued.

According to data compiled by William Blair, which manages about $65.9 billion in assets, the forecasted economic growth rates for emerging markets are expected to be higher than developed markets. Moreover, William Blair believes that inflation is expected to fall faster in emerging markets than in developed markets.

Aberdeen Investments
Scottish-based Aberdeen Investments, a global investment company, has acquired two high-grade residential rental properties in Japan – WORVE Tokyo Kiba and Dimus Negishi – under its Japan Residential Property Strategy.

In Japan, rental growth is emerging as a more significant driver of Japanese property yields, the firm said in a statement. In Tokyo, average multifamily rents across the 23 wards have increased 6.4 per cent year-on-year, supported by robust net migration, accelerated wage growth, and elevated for-sale condo prices, which continue to underpin strong leasing demand.

In October 2024, Aberdeen Investments announced the expansion of its Living business in the Japanese market, having been awarded a mandate by Dutch pension fund manager PGGM to manage a portfolio of 3,300 rental homes in Japan. 

“The Japanese market is an exciting, fast growing addition to our global Living business. These acquisitions underline our ambition to excel in the Japanese real estate market," Marc Pamin, CEO of Living at Aberdeen Investments, said.