Lazard launches Emerging Markets Managed Volatility Fund

LONDON, 20 February 2020 – Lazard Fund Managers (Ireland) today announced the launch
of the Lazard Emerging Markets Managed Volatility Fund.

The UCITS-compliant Fund seeks to produce stable equity returns with total risk well below market levels. The diversified, low volatility emerging market equity strategy aims to exceed market-cap returns annually over a market cycle, with 20% to 30% lower risk. Stocks are selected for the portfolio using a proprietary, quantitatively-based, multi-factor investment process that favours companies with desirable fundamentals, including ESG considerations, and below-average risk characteristics.

“Low volatility and emerging market equities are words that are rarely grouped in the same sentence," said Susanne Willumsen, Managing Director, Portfolio Manager/Analyst at Lazard Asset Management. “The terms, however, are not mutually exclusive. We believe investors stand to benefit from a low volatility allocation in emerging markets as it can result in more diversified economic exposures, the avoidance of market concentration risk and the diversification of holdings from a market cap-weighted benchmark.”

“We incorporate bottom-up ESG and financial analysis from Lazard’s global team of fundamental analysts into the investment process for the Lazard Emerging Markets Managed Volatility Fund,” said Paul Moghtader, Managing Director, Portfolio Manager/Analyst at Lazard Asset Management. “While the same is true across all of our portfolios, ESG factors are perhaps even more important when investing in the emerging markets.”

The Fund, which is currently available to clients in the UK, Ireland, and Switzerland, is managed by the same team of 10 portfolio managers and analysts that already run $16.2 billion1 in assets across Lazard’s Quantitative Equity Platform.

An indirect subsidiary of Lazard Ltd (NYSE: LAZ), Lazard Asset Management (LAM) offers a range of equity, fixed income, and alternative investment products worldwide. As of 31 January 2020, LAM and affiliated asset management companies in the Lazard Group managed $243.6 billion worth of client assets. For more information about LAM, please visit www.LazardAssetManagement.com.