William Blair expands Taiwan presence with emerging market bond fund

Emerging market bonds have seen a significant shift in investor sentiment, with cumulative inflows exceeding $55.3 billion between 2025 and May 31, 2026. This follows a period of substantial outflows totaling approximately $147.8 billion from 2022 to 2024.

William Blair Investment Management (WBIM) is expanding its presence in Taiwan by launching the ‘William Blair Emerging Market Local Currency Bond Fund’. Managed by Marcelo Assalin and Lewis Jones, the fund utilizes a ‘Beta-Bucket’ framework to allocate assets based on risk characteristics—categorizing opportunities into low Beta, high Beta, and frontier markets—rather than strictly by geographic region.

Key drivers for interest in these markets include economic growth differentials, high real interest rates, and the demand for raw materials driven by AI infrastructure development. The investment scope covers approximately 48 emerging and frontier markets, including Egypt, Kazakhstan, Vietnam, and Argentina.