All-women board to lead Vietnam’s first equity UCITS fund

An all-female board is set to run Dragon Capital’s new open-ended Vietnam Equity Undertakings for Collective Investment in Transferable Securities (UCITS) Fund, giving investors access to one of Asia’s fastest-growing markets.

The fund’s main focus will be Vietnamese firms traded on the Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange, or other companies with significant exposure to the country.

The Vietnam Index has risen by just over 23 percent in the past 12 months, according to Dragon Capital, with the country being ‘buoyed by resilient export figures and positive economic policies from the government.’

A spokesperson for the $1.1 bn investment group adds that despite increased interest in Vietnam from private banks and wealth managers, investors ‘have not been able to identify an actively managed fund that fulfills both the current regulatory requirements in Europe and the banks’ more stringent guidelines for allowing their clients to gain access to markets like Vietnam.’ The new fund aims to fill that gap.

An all-female board, while unusual in many western countries, is not uncommon in Vietnam, continues Dragon Capital’s spokesperson. ‘Many of the country’s largest companies are run by female chief executives,’ he says.

‘International investors are continuing to look further afield in their search for growth and we firmly believe the Vietnam Equity UCITS Fund will provide investors with a compelling mix of strong returns and an opportunity to diversify their risk, overseen by an all-female board with close to 50 years’ combined experience in the fund industry,’ says Dominic Scriven, Dragon Capital’s CEO and co-founder, in a press statement.

‘We are confident this new fund will be particularly attractive to investors in Europe and Asia due to the regulated structures and comprehensive risk framework UCITS offers.’

The open-ended fund will focus on private bank clients and wealth managers, with a minimum commitment of $25,000 and a management charge of 2 percent per annum.