funds

Search funds have gained prominence in the US and are gathering steam in other parts of the world. Why have they caught the attention of family businesses and family offices? Jeremy Hazlehurst reports

Imagine you are a young, ambitious, entrepreneurially-minded MBA graduate. You want to run a business, but not a start-up. You do not want to wait decades to work your way up through the ranks of a business. A search fund could be the answer to your prayers. 

As a collection of emerging markets with a strong growth potential, the Balkan countries have firmly positioned themselves on the map of attractive investment locations.

Steadily growing numbers of foreign investors have expanded into Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia, drawn primarily by the region’s favourable location, its affordable workforce and creative tax regimes.

Frontier markets could see an annual growth of 11% over the next 10 years, predicted asset managers Swiss & Global Asset Management, outperforming many developed and mature emerging markets.

Good economic prospects, strong demography and limited penetration by the stock market when compared to the overall GDP are some of the factors that can help these frontier markets grow, said the study.

Calamos Investments, the family-run diversified investment firm, thinks it has found a silver lining to the credit crunch and is making a bold bid to reap some much needed rewards.

John P Calamos Sr and nephew Nick P Calamos have announced that the company's convertible securities fund will reopen for the first time since it was closed to new investors in 2003.