A $56.2-billion-AUM (as of June 30) asset manager's team is rolling out a new EM mutual fund, with two share classes.

Robert Joseph "Bob" Duwa William Blair Investment Management LLC Head of North America Distribution

On July 28, Todd McClone, a partner at William Blair Investment Management LLC [profile] (WBIM), and Bob Duwa, head of North American distribution, unveiled the launch of the William Blair Emerging Markets ex China Growth Fund. The fund's inception date was July 29, and it now has $18 million in AUM.

The new fund's class I shares come with an expense ratio of 99 basis points (including a 45-bps fee waiver promised through April 30, 2024), while the fund's R6 shares come with an expense ratio of 94 bps (including a 39-bps fee waiver promised through April 30, 2024). The fund is a series of the William Blair Funds trust.

McClone and two of his fellow WBIM partners, Casey Preyss and Vivan Lin Thurston, PM the new fund. WBIM is the fund's investment advisor, and William Blair & Company (WBC) serves as the fund's distributor and principal underwriter.

Duwa puts the launch in the context of William Blair's "long and distinguished history of investing in high-quality emerging markets growth equities." McClone highlights William Blair's focus on "in-depth, bottom-up research" on emerging market equities.

"This new fund offers investors an opportunity to leverage that expertise while fine-tuning their allocation decisions between China and the rest of emerging markets," Duwa states. 

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