Stockholm (NordSIP) – Dutch asset management firm Robeco has expanded its emerging markets debt (EMD) capabilities with the acquisition of an experienced team of portfolio managers from New York Life Investments subsidiary Candriam. Robeco unveiled the new recruits on 13 May 2024, along with plans to launch two new debt strategies in the second half of this year.
Robeco has been active in Emerging Markets for more than 30 years. The firm’s Asian bonds and EM Credits offerings will now be complemented by the planned new hard and local currency EM sovereign debt strategies. The new Robeco team consists of Diliana Deltcheva, who has been Head of EMD at Candriam for the past nine years, and Richard Briggs, co-portfolio manager of the Candriam EMD Hard Currency (HC) sovereign strategies and lead manager on the Candriam EMD Local Currencies strategy. They are joined by Nicholas Sauer, who has been a co-portfolio manager on Candriam’s EMD HC sovereign strategies since 2019. The team represents almost 50 years of combined emerging market debt experience.
Robeco developed its proprietary country Sustainability Ranking as far back as 2009, and plans to combine this capability with the new team’s expertise to offer sovereign EMD strategies that fully incorporate sustainability insights. Commenting on the new recruits, Robeco’s Head of Nordics Stefan Laszlo said: “Expanding in EMD is a logical step for Robeco, as it combines two of our key strengths: investing in emerging markets and our expertise in fixed income. Nordic clients have shown strong demand for EMD over the years, either with domestic managers or with international managers. I am therefore excited that our clients get access to this asset class via our broader fixed income platform.”
The new sovereign EMD team is expected to start at Robeco in September 2024, ahead of the launch of the firm’s new strategies later that month.
