Forward march: Firm launches frontier funds

Forward Management LLC of San Francisco, adviser to the Accessor Funds, announced today the launch of a mutual fund that gives investors access to “frontier” equity markets which are smaller, less liquid and less developed. The benchmark for the Accessor Frontier Markets Fund is the MSCI Frontier Market Index, consisting of 22 countries across the Middle East, Africa, Eastern Europe and Asia, and includes such countries as United Arab Emirates, Vietnam, Croatia and Ukraine. "Frontier economies have diverse and growing industries, including telecommunications, consumer and banking,” Paul Herber, the fund's portfolio manager, said in a statement. “The combination of high growth and relative low valuations makes frontier markets one of the most compelling stories in global investing." The fund will be available in Advisor (FRNMX) and Investor (FRONX) Class Shares.