Mark Mobius investment trust IPO falls £100m short of target
Emerging markets veteran Mark Mobius' investment trust has raised £100M through an Initial Public Offering (IPO), which is half of the target amount.
Mobius Capital Partners announced it would target £200m for the trust, which will invest in small to mid cap emerging and frontier markets, earlier this month.
Read more: Mobius to raise £200m for emerging markets investment trust
Analysis from Numis said the market for investment firm IPOs is relatively tough and that investor sentiment towards emerging markets is "particularly poor."
However it added: "We believe that the fund benefits from a strong management team and a differentiated mandate, as well as a competitive fee structure and an effective discount control policy.
"If the fund gets off to a solid start in terms of performance, we would expect it to be able to grow through secondary tap issuance."
Founding partners Mark Mobius, Carlos Hardenberg and Greg Konieczny and employees invested £5.7m in the fund.
Mobius said: "We want to thank all of our shareholders for their support in the successful IPO of Mobius Investment Trust.
"This represents a solid endorsement of our strategy, given the challenging sentiment towards emerging and frontier markets.
"We now look forward to capitalising on the significant investment opportunity that exists in our target markets.”
Read more: Why timing is essential when it comes to emerging markets