Aberdeen Standard Investments Emerging Market Local Currency Debt Fund

Aberdeen Standard Investments (ASI) has launched a new Australian dollar fund that invests in emerging market debt, called the Emerging Market Local Currency Debt Fund.

The new emerging market debt (EMD) fund is designed to give investors access to a meaningful risk premium in a low return environment and potentially offers investors new sources of investment income. It has a minimum investment of $20,000.

"The new fund has been designed to help optimise exposure for Australian investors. The vast majority of the portfolio is invested in government bonds, helping to mitigate credit risk. Secondly this is a local currency fund and the traditional correlation between the AUD and EM currencies helps to further mitigate risk for Australian investors," Brett Diment, ASI's head of global emerging market debt, said.

While emerging market debt may not traditionally be on the radar of many investors, Diment said the attractive relative yields are encouraging more local investors to understand the asset class.