William Blair Investment Management Introduces Emerging Markets ex China Growth Fund

CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--William Blair today announced the launch of the William Blair Emerging Markets ex China Growth Fund (WXCIX). Portfolio managers Todd McClone, Casey Preyss, and Vivian Lin Thurston will co-manage the fund, which seeks long-term capital appreciation by investing in a diversified portfolio of emerging market companies of all sizes, excluding companies with their principal office in China.

“In-depth, bottom-up research is the hallmark of our approach to investing in emerging markets equities, along with assessing the economic strengths of various industries and countries. With this new fund we are targeting those efforts at emerging markets excluding China to give investors a broad allocation across market cap, sectors, and countries, including frontier markets,” said McClone, CFA, portfolio manager.

The William Blair Emerging Markets ex China Growth Fund is managed by McClone, Preyss, and Thurston, with the support of a seasoned team with decades of experience in emerging markets. The fund will invest across the market-cap spectrum in companies with superior quality and growth characteristics relative to competitors.

“William Blair has a long and distinguished history of investing in high-quality emerging markets growth 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,” said Robert J. Duwa, CFA, head of North American distribution.

The Emerging Markets ex China Growth Fund expands the suite of William Blair strategies available to U.S. investors. As of June 30, 2022, William Blair Investment Management manages approximately $56.2 billion.

About William Blair

William Blair is the premier global boutique with expertise in investment banking, investment management, and private wealth management. We provide advisory services, strategies, and solutions to meet our clients' evolving needs. As an independent and employee-owned firm, together with our strategic partners, we operate in more than 20 offices worldwide.*

William Blair Investment Management is a premier global investment management boutique, with a sole focus on active management across U.S. growth and core equities; U.S. value equities; global equities, including emerging markets equities; and emerging markets debt strategies. We are a U.N.-Supported Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) Signatory, Investor Stewardship Group Member (Framework for U.S. Stewardship and Governance), and Signatory to the Japan and Korea Stewardship Codes. We work closely with private and public pension funds, insurance companies, endowments, foundations, and sovereign wealth funds, as well as financial advisors. As of June 30, 2022, William Blair Investment Management manages more than $56.2 billion in assets. For more information on William Blair Funds, please visit www.williamblairfunds.com.

*Includes strategic partnerships with Allier Capital, BDA Partners, and Poalim Capital Markets

Disclosure:

This content is for informational and educational purposes only and not intended as investment advice or a recommendation to buy or sell any security. Investment advice and recommendations can be provided only after careful consideration of an investor’s objectives, guidelines, and restrictions.

The Fund involves a high level of risk and may not be appropriate for everyone. You should only consider it for the aggressive portion of your portfolio. The Fund’s returns will vary, and you could lose money by investing in the Fund. The Fund holds equities which may decline in value due to both real and perceived general market, economic, and industry conditions. Investing in securities of smaller companies tends to be more volatile and less liquid than securities of larger companies. International investing involves special risk considerations, including currency fluctuations, higher volatility, lower liquidity, economic and political risk. Investing emerging markets can increase these risks. The securities of emerging market companies may be subject to greater volatility and less liquidity than companies in more developed markets. Individual securities may not perform as expected or a strategy used by the Adviser may fail to produce its intended results. Currency rates may fluctuate significantly over short periods of time and may reduce the returns of a portfolio.

Please carefully consider the Fund’s investment objectives, risks, charges, and expenses before investing. This and other information is contained in the Fund’s prospectus and summary prospectus, which you may obtain by calling 1-800-742-7272. Read the prospectus and summary prospectus carefully before investing. Investing includes the risk of loss.

The William Blair Funds are distributed by William Blair & Company, L.L.C., member FINRA/SIPC.