Brandes Investment Partners' [see profile] mutual fund lineup now includes an emerging markets fund.

The newly launched Emerging Markets Equity Fund carries an expense ratio of 112 basis points for Class I shares and 137 bps for S shares. [SEC filing]

"At a time when money being invested in emerging markets primarily is chasing the promise of growth at large-cap companies, Brandes offers investors a value-based investment strategy," said Gerardo Zamorano, director of investments at the San Diego-based value specialist, in a press release on Tuesday.

Company officials also pointed to flexibility as another distinct feature of the product. The fund can be overweight in an industry or country where opportunities abound and have zero weight where there is no compelling opportunity.

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Company Press Release

Brandes Investment Partners Launches Emerging Markets Equity Fund

Emphasis on undervalued and mispriced securities Offers investors access to small- and mid-sized companies

SAN DIEGO, Feb. 1, 2011 -- Brandes Investment Partners, L.P. ("Brandes") announced today the launch of its Emerging Markets Equity Fund (the "Fund").

The Fund is a mutual fund targeted to long-term investors seeking a disciplined, conservative approach that focuses on valuations and company fundamentals. The Fund also seeks to provide an attractive dividend yield.

"We've been investing in emerging markets for nearly three decades using a disciplined, value-based approach," said Charles Brandes, CFA, founder of Brandes Investment Partners.

"At a time when money being invested in emerging markets primarily is chasing the promise of growth at large-cap companies, Brandes offers investors a value-based investment strategy," said Gerardo Zamorano, CFA, Director - Investments of Brandes Investment Partners. "While promising growth opportunities may still exist, we focus exclusively on valuation, striving not to pay too high a price for the growth potential emerging markets provide. Despite recent strong returns in emerging markets as measured by the MSCI Emerging Markets Index, we still see significant opportunity, in particular, among small- and mid-sized companies which receive less attention by analysts and are more often mispriced."

Another distinctive feature is the Fund's flexibility. The Fund has the ability to overweight in an industry or country when large opportunities exist; have zero weight in a country or industry if there is no compelling opportunity; be more defensive than an index in country allocations; and invest in non-index companies.

Many investors add emerging market investments to their portfolio because they typically have been less correlated to developed markets, and therefore may help reduce the volatility of their returns.

The Fund is managed by a highly experienced seven-member committee with an average of more than 16 years of industry experience. The committee is supported by 30 equity analysts and 16 research associates. The team has a long history of investing in even the most volatile of emerging market conditions.

Historically, the best returns in emerging markets have come from value stocks, and not growth stocks. These conclusions are supported by a significant body of research and recently confirmed by studies by the Brandes Institute: New Insights into the Case for Emerging Market Equities and Value vs. Glamour: A Global Phenomenon. Both studies are available at the Brandes Institute's website: http://www.brandes.com/Institute/

What Are The Risks?

International investing is subject to certain risks such as currency fluctuation and social and political changes which may result in greater share price volatility; such risks are increased when investing in emerging markets. Additional risks associated with emerging markets investing include smaller-sized markets, liquidity risks, and less established legal, political, social, and business systems to support securities markets. Stocks of small-sized and mid-sized companies usually experience greater volatility than stocks of larger companies. Emerging markets investments can experience substantial price volatility in the short term and should be considered long-term investments. These and other risks are discussed in greater detail in the fund's prospectus.

About Brandes

Brandes Investment Partners® ("Brandes") is a leading U.S. investment advisory firm based in San Diego and managing equity and fixed-income assets for institutional and private clients worldwide. Since inception in 1974, Brandes has applied the value investing approach to security selection first pioneered by Benjamin Graham in the 1930's. Brandes is 100% employee-owned and has 477 employees worldwide. At end 2010, Brandes managed approximately $47.8 billion of assets. More information at www.brandes.com

 

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