Alma Gramercy Emerging Markets Debt
Overview
Alma Gramercy Emerging Markets Debt is a long-only emerging markets debt fund.
The fund’s management is delegated to Gramercy Funds Management.
Share Class
NAV
Cumulative Performance (%)
Fund Inception 3 November 2022
| Daily | Monthly | Ytd | 1Yr | 3Yr | 5Yr | Incept. | Incept.Date |
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The performance data shown represents past performance. Past performance is not a guarantee of future results. Current performance may be lower or higher than the performance quoted. The investment return and the principal value of an investment will fluctuate so that an investor’s shares, when redeemed, may be worth more or less than their original cost.
Strategy & Manager
Fund Strategy
The Strategy seeks to outperform emerging market debt (EMD) markets by applying Gramercy’s symbiotic top-down / bottom-up approach to build a blended portfolio of hard currency sovereign debt, local currency sovereign debt and hard currency corporate debt.
The EM Debt investment team led by Portfolio Managers Philip Meier and Belinda Hill, each with over 15 years’ experience managing EM debt funds and a team of experienced dedicated analysts. The two Portfolio Managers also benefit from the support of a dedicated top-down view group led by Mohamed A. El-Erian, which builds investment themes and directional market views.
Investment Manager
Gramercy Funds Management is a $7.4 billion asset management firm dedicated to emerging markets, founded in 1998 by CIO Robert Koenigsberger and chaired by Mohamed A. El-Erian. The firm is headquartered in Greenwich, CT with offices in London, Buenos Aires and Mexico City.
Key Persons
Philip Meier
Managing Director, Head of Emerging Markets Debt, Multi-Asset Portfolio Manager
Mr. Meier brings more than 19 years of investment experience to Gramercy. He is Head of EM Debt and Portfolio Manager of Gramercy’s Multi-Asset Strategies. Prior to joining Gramercy, Mr. Meier spent nearly five years at Legal & General Investment Management (LGIM) where he was a senior member of the Emerging Markets Debt Portfolio Management Team. In addition to LGIM, Mr. Meier’s emerging markets credit experience includes time with AXA Investment Managers as Senior Portfolio Manager, Emerging Markets Fixed Income, in London. He began his emerging markets credit investing career with Deutsche Asset Management in Frankfurt. Mr. Meier graduated from the European Business School in Germany and holds an MBA-equivalent (“Diplom-Kaufmann”) in Finance & Banking.
Belinda Hill
Managing Director, Emerging Markets Debt Portfolio Manager
Ms. Hill has 22 years of investment and research experience in emerging markets. She is a Co-Portfolio Manager for Gramercy’s long-only EMD strategies and a Senior Research Analyst for the firm’s alternative portfolios. Prior to joining Gramercy, Ms. Hill spent three years as an Emerging Markets Analyst at Apollo Global Management. At Apollo, she analyzed sovereign, quasi-sovereign, and corporate issuers across all sectors and was also responsible for sourcing and evaluating new strategic initiatives and private opportunities. Prior to Apollo, Ms. Hill worked at Schroders Investment Management for two years as an Emerging Markets Corporate Credit Analyst. Ms. Hill also worked at HPP, PepsiCo and Credit Suisse. Ms. Hill received her BA in Business Administration from Georgetown University where she graduated Cum Laude. Additionally, Ms. Hill is a CFA Charterholder.
Statistics & Commentary
Performance
The performance data shown represents past performance. Past performance is not a guarantee of future results. Current performance may be lower or higher than the performance data quoted. The investment return and the principal value of an investment will fluctuate so that an investor's shares, when redeemed, may be worth more or less than their original cost.
Investment Manager's Commentary
as of 30/01/2026Market Review and Outlook
January ended with markets modestly higher, though the advance was uneven and accompanied by elevated volatility and periods of heightened uncertainty. Investor sentiment improved early in the month as the Federal Reserve held the policy rate at 3.50%–3.75%, a widely expected decision that nonetheless revealed internal disagreement, with Governor Christopher Waller dissenting in favor of an additional 25 bps cut. Uncertainty surrounding Fed leadership also persisted, given Chair Jerome Powell’s term ending in early February, before easing late in the month following President Trump’s nomination of Kevin Warsh as his successor. U.S. equities advanced overall on resilient earnings (S&P 500 +1.37%, Nasdaq +0.95%), though gains were interrupted mid-month by a spike in volatility as an unexpected political dispute over Greenland unsettled markets and U.S.–Iran tensions escalated. Treasury yields rose very modestly to 4.24%, while the U.S. dollar weakened to multi-year lows (DXY –1.35%) before partially rebounding at month-end, capping a strong rally in gold, which had reached multi-year highs (+13.31%). Commodities performed strongly, led by a sharp rebound in oil prices (Brent +16.17%, WTI +13.57%) amid supply concerns and dollar weakness. Against this backdrop, the Fund (I USD Acc) returned approximately +0.85% in January, compared with a +1.20% return for the JPMorgan EM Equal Weight Index (USD).
In terms of return drivers, emerging market local-currency sovereign bonds, as represented by the GBI-EM Global Diversified Index, again led performance with a gain of 2.18% for the month, supported by renewed weakness in the U.S. dollar. EM hard-currency sovereign bonds, tracked by the EMBI Global Diversified Index, returned 0.68%, with strength in the high-yield segment (+1.50%) more than offsetting modest losses in investment grade (–0.14%), as sentiment improved in select distressed names. EM hard-currency corporate bonds, as measured by the CEMBI Broad Diversified Index, outperformed hard-currency sovereigns, returning +0.74%. Within corporates, high yield (+1.39%) outperformed investment grade (+0.30%) as demand for distressed credits increased. Sovereign spreads tightened by 9 bps at the index level, driven by a 17 bps compression in high yield, while investment-grade spreads widened by 3 bps. Corporate spreads narrowed by 13 bps overall, with high yield tightening by 26 bps compared with 5 bps for investment grade.
Fund
The Fund (I USD Acc) returned 0.85% in January.
The Fund’s performance in January was driven primarily by active positioning and security selection within both corporate and sovereign high-yield segments. The top contributor was security selection in hard-currency corporate high yield, particularly in two distressed positions—one in Brazil and one in Ghana—where improving risk sentiment and positive idiosyncratic developments supported price appreciation. The Fund’s allocation to investment-grade assets detracted from performance, as investment grade lagged other EM asset classes amid supply pressures and modestly higher rates. In addition, the Fund’s overall underweight to local-currency sovereigns weighed on relative performance, as the broad-based rally in EM currencies also benefited lower-beta currencies, such as the Malaysian ringgit, where the Fund has no exposure.
Facts & Documents
Facts
Fund Domicile: Luxembourg
Fund Type: UCITS SICAV
Fund Launch: 3 November 2022
Base Currency: USD
Depositary, Administrator, Transfert Agent: BNP Paribas SA
Dealing: Each day with a 1-day notice
Cut-off time: 12 pm CET
Management Company: Alma Capital Investment Management
Investment Manager: Gramercy Funds Management LLC (US)
Countries where the fund is registered:
Luxembourg, Austria, Germany, France, UK, Italy, Ireland, Switzerland
Sustainability-related disclosures:
The information related to the integration of sustainability risks and to the potential adverse sustainability impacts at the sub-fund level can be found in the prospectus of the Fund.
Identifiers:
Institutional USD Capitalisation share class
ISIN: LU2485348770
Ticker: ALGIIUC LX
Launch: 3 Nov 2022
Institutional USD Distribution share class
ISIN: LU2485348853
Ticker: ALGMIUD LX
Launch: 6 Feb 2023
Institutional EUR hedged Distribution share class
ISIN: LU2485349232
Ticker: ALGIEHD LX
Launch: 6 Feb 2023
Institutional GBP hedged Distribution share class
ISIN: LU2485348937
Ticker: ALGIGHD LX
Launch: 6 Feb 2023