POWERED BY MOMENTUM MEDIA
Institutions flock to emerging consumer fund
MetLife and Christian Super are amongst a number of insurers, global banks and asset managers to have invested over $200 million into LeapFrog Investments' emerging consumer fund which has been closed to new money following eight months of capital raising.
The LeapFrog Fund II will invest in eight emerging markets in Africa, South Asia and Southeast Asia that provide financial services, such as insurance, savings, pensions and investment products to consumers.
"There are 1.9 billion emerging consumers in LeapFrog's target regions, and their spending power is forecast to rise from $2 trillion today to $5 trillion in the coming decade," said Dr Andrew Kuper, LeapFrog Investments president and founder.
"Financial services are crucial springboards for households and businesses, but access is very limited. LeapFrog backs the best companies to serve this vast and untapped market."
Other institutions to invest in the fund include Prudential (USA), XL Group, Achmea, PartnerRE, Swiss Re and JP Morgan Chase & Co. The European Investment Bank, FMO and Oikocredit also invested into the fund.
Many investors also put money into LeapFrog's first ‘profit-with-purpose' fund.
The new fund aims to invest up to US$60 million in equity markets in Indonesia, the Philippines, India, Sri Lanka, Kenya, South Africa, Nigeria and Ghana, where growth in financial services was on average 17.4 per cent in 2012 — over four times the nominal global GDP growth.
"Crucially, 12 million of the 18 million people our companies have reached so far are emerging consumers, living on less than US$10 per day," said Kuper.
"We are demonstrating that smart businesses that provide empowering products actually grow faster and are more competitive than their peers."
AUTHOR
Staff Writer
Money Management staff writers are writers who contribute to the website from time to time. If you would like to discuss the content contained within this article please contact us.
Recommended for you
Equity markets have surged ahead of fundamentals as institutional investors fall behind, according to Ten Cap Alpha Plus.
Local investors are leading the region in plans to boost private market exposure, as demand grows for innovative fund structures, resilient investments, and a more selective approach to alternatives.
Research shows institutional investors are increasingly turning to private credit, but the APAC region’s relatively small market size remains a key constraint.
The global financial platform has completed a Series F funding round, with superannuation funds participating in the round.
TOP PERFORMING FUNDS
ACS FIXED INT - AUSTRALIA/GLOBAL BOND
Fund name
3y(%)pa
1
DomaCom DFS Mortgage
92.15 3 y p.a(%)
2
Global X 21Shares Bitcoin ETF
53.24 3 y p.a(%)
3
Global X GlobalX FANG+ ETF
43.15 3 y p.a(%)
4
DomaCom Shoreline North Coogee
36.26 3 y p.a(%)
5
GAM LSA Private Shares AU I
35.87 3 y p.a(%)
