October 2, 2020 | Emerging Markets Debt
Our Edge in Local Currency

Watch this video online:
https://youtu.be/X8Kt56szsu4?si=3SO4Ymrj2S2ibvGu
Transcript
Emerging markets are complex and rapidly changing. Successfully navigating them requires the focus and skill of a dedicated investment team.
We have a global presence in both research and trading, giving us 24-hour access to markets. Our portfolio managers have dual functions, both evaluating and selecting securities and participating in trade execution. The team maintains constant contact with the market, responding quickly to new developments.
We believe diversification of alpha sources is the best way to meet our strategy objectives through market cycles and conditions. Our diversification discipline effectively means constructing portfolios by deploying a large number of small, active positions, which we believe leads to superior risk-adjusted returns over the medium term. Our research incorporates covers more than 80 emerging market countries.
Our investment process combines bottom-up analysis of sovereign and corporate issuers and currencies with top-down analysis of global and regional market conditions.
For both top-down and bottom-up, we use a risk-scoring framework. Top-down scores are set monthly in a joint effort by the wide emerging markets debt team. Bottom-up scores are determined by the individual who manages that strategy. The resulting scores represent the sum total of our assessment of each asset class issuer or security. This translates directly into overweight or underweight exposures.
Our local currency strategy separates FX and rates decisions. This allows us to adopt a more tactical approach in FX, where periods of excess volatility and large drawdowns are more frequent.
This ultimately benefits the potential long-term risk and return characteristics of our investments.
Filmed September 2020
The views and opinions expressed herein are those of the speaker(s) as of the date of publication, are subject to change without notice as economic and market conditions dictate, and may not reflect the views and opinions of other investment teams within William Blair. Factual information has been obtained from sources we believe to be reliable, but its accuracy, completeness, or interpretation cannot be guaranteed. This material may include estimates, outlooks, projections, and other forward-looking statements. Due to a variety of factors, actual events may differ significantly from those presented. This video has been provided for informational purposes only and should not be considered as investment advice or a recommendation of any particular strategy or investment product, or as an offer to buy or sell any securities or related financial instruments in any jurisdiction. Investment advice and recommendations can be provided only after careful consideration of an investor’s objectives, guidelines, and restrictions. Investing involves risks, including the possible loss of principal. Past performance is not indicative of future results.
Copyright © 2020 William Blair. “William Blair” refers to William Blair Investment Management, LLC. William Blair is a registered trademark of William Blair & Company, L.L.C.
