NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Lazard Asset Management LLC (LAM) announced today the U.S. launch of two fixed income mutual funds. The Lazard Emerging Markets Debt Portfolio (NASDAQ: LEDIX, LEDOX) and the Lazard U.S. Municipal Portfolio (NASDAQ: UMNIX, UMNOX) are available to both institutional and individual investors.
“These two new mutual funds offer investors additional ways to diversify their portfolios with debt from emerging market countries and U.S. municipalities,” said Charles Carroll, a Deputy Chairman and Head of Global Marketing, LAM. “The emerging markets and fixed income investment teams managing these portfolios have a high degree of expertise and experience with their respective fixed income strategies. Both teams rely on fundamental security selection and use a disciplined approach to portfolio construction.”
The Lazard Emerging Markets Debt Portfolio expands LAM’s capabilities in this growing asset class and allocates assets opportunistically across regions using a flexible investment approach. The Portfolio Management Team considers the entire universe of emerging market debt including hard and local currency instruments of sovereign, corporate and securitized debt, as well as derivatives. Portfolio Managers Denise Simon and Arif Joshi have 25 years and 13 years of industry experience, respectively. They have managed emerging market debt portfolios together since 2001 and joined LAM in 2010 from HSBC Asset Management.
The Lazard U.S. Municipal Portfolio broadens LAM’s fixed income platform and invests primarily in investment grade U.S. municipal securities. These securities have an average weighted effective duration of between two and seven years, the interest on which is typically exempt from regular federal income tax. Portfolio Managers Joe Ramos and George Grimbilas each have over 25 years of industry experience and joined LAM in 2006 from Ambac Financial Group. Portfolio Manager John Senesac Jr. has 19 years of industry experience and joined LAM in 2000. He previously worked with Alliance Capital/Regent Investor Services and Trenwick America Reinsurance Corporation.
An indirect subsidiary of Lazard Ltd (NYSE: LAZ), Lazard Asset Management LLC, the Funds’ investment manager, offers a range of equity, fixed-income, and alternative investment products worldwide. As of December 31, 2010, LAM and affiliated asset management companies in the Lazard Group managed $155.3 billion worth of client assets. For more information about LAM, please go to www.Lazardnet.com.
About Lazard
Lazard, one of the world’s preeminent financial advisory and asset management firms, operates from 41 cities across 26 countries in North America, Europe, Asia, Australia, Central and South America. With origins dating back to 1848, the firm provides advice on mergers and acquisitions, strategic matters, restructuring and capital structure, capital raising and corporate finance, as well as asset management services to corporations, partnerships, institutions, governments and individuals. For more information on Lazard, please visit www.lazard.com.
An investment in any Lazard mutual fund involves risks. Please consider a portfolio’s objectives, risks, charges and expenses carefully before investing. For more complete information about the Lazard Funds, you may obtain a prospectus or summary prospectus by calling +1 800-823-6300 or by visiting: www.Lazardnet.com. Please read the prospectus or summary prospectus carefully before you invest. The Lazard Funds are distributed by Lazard Asset Management Securities LLC.
Lazard Emerging Markets Debt Portfolio
The Portfolio is non-diversified, which means that it may invest a relatively high percentage of its assets in a limited number of issuers, when compared to a diversified fund.
An investment in fixed-income securities involves risks, including, but not limited to, interest rate risk and credit risk. The value of your investment in the Portfolio will fluctuate, which means you could lose money.
Non-domestic securities carry special risks, such as exposure to less developed or less efficient trading markets, political instability, a lack of company information, differing auditing and legal standards, and, potentially, less liquidity. In addition, investments denominated in currencies other than U.S. dollars carry the risk that such currencies will decline in value relative to the U.S. dollar and affect the value of these investments held in the Portfolio. The securities markets of emerging market countries can be extremely volatile. The Portfolio’s performance will be influenced by political, social and economic factors affecting companies in emerging market countries. Emerging market countries can generally have economic structures that are less diverse and mature, and political systems that are less stable, than those of developed countries.
Derivatives transactions, including those entered into for hedging purposes, may reduce returns or increase volatility. Derivatives can also be illiquid and highly sensitive to changes in the related currency, security or securities. As such, a small investment in certain derivatives could have a potentially large impact on the Portfolio’s performance.
Lazard U.S. Municipal Portfolio
An investment in fixed-income securities, and in particular, municipal securities involves risks, including, but not limited to, interest rate risk and credit risk. Credit risk, is the risk that the issuer will not make timely interest or principal payments. Payment by the issuer may depend on a relatively limited source of revenue, resulting in greater credit risk. The values of municipal securities can fluctuate and may be affected by adverse tax law, legislative or political changes, and by financial or other developments affecting municipal issuers and the municipal securities market generally. The value of your investment in the Portfolio will fluctuate, which means you could lose money.
Future changes in the activity of an issuer may adversely affect the tax-exempt status of municipal securities. If a municipal security fails to meet certain regulatory requirements to maintain its exempt tax status, the interest received by the Portfolio from its investment in such security, and the related distributions to Portfolio shareholders, will be taxable. Additionally, certain securities comprising the Portfolio may be subject to the alternative minimum tax.