MutualFundWire.com: One Fund For All of Africa
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Thursday, April 29, 2010

One Fund For All of Africa


Nile Capital Management just launched a new fund which will invest exclusively in African companies and markets. The Nile Pan Africa Fund will be managed by chief investment officer Larry Seruma.

The fund comes in three share classes; A class, with an expense ratio of 270 basis points; C class, at 345 bps; and institutional class, at 245 bps, according to a filing.

The fund will invest in currency, equities and ETFs, among other investments. Nile Capital Management launched three other funds in October, which invest regionally in Africa.

Northern Lights Distributors is the Pan Africa Fund's distributor and principal underwriter. Gemini Fund Services serves as the transfer agent. Thompson Hine provides legal council.

Company Press Release

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nile Capital Management, LLC, announced the launch of the Nile Pan Africa Fund, an actively managed mutual fund to focus exclusively on the continent of Africa. The Fund seeks to capitalize on the investment opportunities in the growing but under-researched and under-invested African markets and enhance investors’ overall exposure to emerging markets.

The Nile Pan Africa Fund is available in the following share classes -- A class load (NAFIX), C class no-load (NAFCX), and I class institutional (NAFAX) shares.

The investment objective of the Fund is to provide long-term capital appreciation by investing in stocks of African-based companies. The Fund diversifies broadly among the most attractive countries in Africa, identified through top-down macroeconomic analysis of Africa’s 53 countries. The investment team then employs bottom-up fundamental analysis to determine the most attractive companies in selected markets.

Larry Seruma, Chief Investment Officer and Managing Principal of Nile Capital Management will manage the fund.

“We are pleased to offer an actively managed mutual fund exclusively focused on Africa for US investors,” said Mr. Seruma. “It offers long-term investors expanded access to the best investment opportunities among emerging and frontier African economies. Our on the ground presence and proven investment process makes this strategy an attractive choice for investors looking to participate in the increasing number of high-growth public companies on the continent,” he added.

The fund offers an opportunity to participate in the growth of the second largest continent by population and land area. The rise in demand for commodities across the world has sparked a race to develop and invest in Africa’s vast natural resources. As Africa’s economies continue to grow, political stability deepens and standards of living keep rising, high-growth public companies are emerging on the continent. Africa’s 23 stock markets remains the least-researched sector in the emerging/frontier markets, and its stock market valuations are relatively attractive. Nile Capital Management believes active portfolio management can add significant value through fundamental research which includes, monitoring macro trends, identifying the most attractive companies, and avoiding high-risk areas.

The fund’s portfolio manager, Larry Seruma, has over 19 years of investment experience, which includes portfolio management, growth investing, research and trading. In 2004, he founded Nile Capital Management, LLC. Mr. Seruma also served as Managing Director at Proxima Alfa Investments (USA) LLC, a joint venture between Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria and Vega Asset Management and was Principal at Barclays Global Investors, a division of Barclays Capital. He is originally from Uganda. Mr. Seruma holds an MBA in Analytic Finance and Statistics from the Booth School of Business, The University of Chicago.

About Nile Capital Management, LLC

Nile Capital Management, the Advisor to the Nile Africa series of funds, is a New York-based asset management firm with in-depth investment expertise that covers the entire African continent, from Cairo to Cape Town. By focusing on Africa, the company seeks to identify and capitalize on the best investment opportunities in the continent and expand investor’s access to emerging/frontier markets. Additional information is available at www.nilefunds.com.


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