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I am considering moving from WAFMX to Rondure New World Fund. Rondure New World Fund will invest in "both emerging and frontier" markets, so it won't be a pure frontier fund. Fees and expenses on Rondure New World Fund are capped 1.35% (Investor class) and 1.10% (Institutional class) -- much lower than WAFMX, which suggests that frontier markets might not make up a major part of the portfolio.
I think the lower expenses have to do with a couple things: 1) Wasatch charges way too much, 2) Rondure will be larger cap. WAFMX is not exclusively FM either...
@MFO Members: I'd look before I'd leap ! I know some MFO Members think Laura Geritz is the greatest thing since sliced bread, but her record at Wasatch is behind her. I wouldn't be to quick to invest Rondure new funds. Regards, Ted
They have to be available NTF somewhere before I would consider. Launch timing might be perfect though, given so much news about people overweighting emerging markets. Ted's warning not withstanding, some funds have the luck of blasting right out of the gate. Nothing wrong in buying and selling in 3 years.
I'm going to be cautious as well. I like Laura Geritz and I hope she succeeds but I'd like to see how their funds come together and how they do before I believe her approach to emerging markets is going to beat Grandeur Peak or Seafarer, or even Matthews Emerging Asia, where I have my emerging and frontier market exposure for now.
As far as developed international, her other fund, I find it tough to believe that she and one analyst who will focus on Europe are going to outdo funds with the ability to analyze companies in far greater detail. Come to think of it, her other analyst will focus on Africa, the Middle East and India, meaning she has to be the expert for Latin America and everything east of India, which is a lot on her plate when she also has to run the business and teach any new people how she wants things done.
@LLJB: Good points. As much as I'd like to think her funds are going to be go-just-about-anywhere winners right out of the gate, I'm not sure they won't turn out to be pretty limited in scope (geography, sector, market cap, etc.) because of the incredible demands a real go-anywhere approach entails, and I'd like to see first whether a core competence emerges, and what it is if it does.
So, I'll prob'ly be watching from the sidelines for a while to see how they develop.
I'm going to be cautious as well. I like Laura Geritz and I hope she succeeds but I'd like to see how their funds come together and how they do before I believe her approach to emerging markets is going to beat Grandeur Peak or Seafarer, or even Matthews Emerging Asia, where I have my emerging and frontier market exposure for now.
As far as developed international, her other fund, I find it tough to believe that she and one analyst who will focus on Europe are going to outdo funds with the ability to analyze companies in far greater detail. Come to think of it, her other analyst will focus on Africa, the Middle East and India, meaning she has to be the expert for Latin America and everything east of India, which is a lot on her plate when she also has to run the business and teach any new people how she wants things done.
For better or for worse (decide for yourself), I think the Rondure and GP teams will be collaborating quite a bit, especially in the early stages and Laura builds out her team.
I remain confused as to where her sweet spot may lie as compared to the Grandeur Peak and Seafarer portfolios. It might help if there were greater clarity from Ms. Geritz. I would think she would be amenable, if not eager for a conference call with this forum.
Comments
Regards,
Ted
As far as developed international, her other fund, I find it tough to believe that she and one analyst who will focus on Europe are going to outdo funds with the ability to analyze companies in far greater detail. Come to think of it, her other analyst will focus on Africa, the Middle East and India, meaning she has to be the expert for Latin America and everything east of India, which is a lot on her plate when she also has to run the business and teach any new people how she wants things done.
So, I'll prob'ly be watching from the sidelines for a while to see how they develop.
That's a hint.