Emerging Markets: The Long And Short Game

Paul Heathwood, Director of Investor Relations, Boston Partners sat down with Julie Cooling, Founder & CEO, RIA Channel to discuss investment strategies in emerging markets. Boston Partners has been managing long / short portfolios for over 20 years and oversees nearly $97 billion in assets.  The latest offering from the firm is their Emerging Markets Long / Short Equity Strategy, which Heathwood said aims to “tap into the growth potential, and the alpha opportunities in emerging markets, but with an improved risk profile.”  The strategy is based on “bottom-up stock picking” on both the long and short side. Heathwood explained that the percentage of long/ short stocks can really depend on the current opportunity set. The highly diversified portfolio, contains investments in over 25 countries around the world, with a regional focus in Asia-Pacific. Heathwood believed that this broad level of exposure gives Boston Partners the ability to focus on macro-oriented risk across the board. This past March, Boston Partners was awarded the 2018 Thomas Reuters Lipper Fund Award in Alternative Long / Short Equity Funds.  The award is given annually to funds and firms that exhibit the strongest risk adjusted performance.