BlackRock changes manager line-up on Frontiers & LatAm trusts

BlackRock has made changes to the management teams on its Frontiers and Latin American trusts, following a restructure of its wider global emerging markets division.

BlackRock Frontiers (BRFI ) manager Sudaif Niaz has stepped down from the trust following a restructure of BlackRock’s global emerging markets division.

Linked to the overhaul, Christoph Brinkmann has also stepped down as co-manager of BlackRock Latin American (BRLA ) trust. He will be replaced by Gordon Fraser, who has been appointed head of a newly formed emerging markets and frontiers team, based in London. Fraser will work alongside the trust’s long-standing manager Sam Vecht. 

Vecht and Emily Fletcher will also continue as co-managers of BlackRock Frontiers.

BlackRock said no changes will be made to the way both trusts are managed.

Over the past three years BlackRock Frontiers, which has a market capitalisation of £276m, has seen its shares gain 24.3% versus 8.6% by the AIC’s global emerging markets sector. It yields 5% and trades on a 6.4% discount.

The £87m Latin American has fared less well. Its shares are down 31.5% over the past three years. It currently yields 6.6% and trades on an 11.3% discount.

As well as a period of underperformance, the Latin American trust has also seen some previous turnover among its manager line-up, including portfolio manager changes in 2022 and 2019.

BlackRock GEM restructure

The latest moves follow BlackRock’s decision to overhaul its global emerging markets (GEM) division and split it into two distinct teams, as revealed by our sister publication Citywire Selector earlier today.

The changes include the recruitment of a senior investor in Asia and the repositioning of certain portfolio managers, team leaders and strategies.

The resulting structure will create an emerging markets and Asia core team in Hong Kong and an emerging markets and frontiers team in London, with the division remaining under the overall leadership of emerging markets chief investment officer Belinda Boa.

The shift is part of a broader effort by the world’s largest asset manager to streamline its ‘fundamental equities’ division and bring investment expertise closer to the regions covered.

Forming part of this restructure, Egon Vavrek has been recruited as head of the emerging markets and Asia core team, joining from APG Asset Management Asia.

The emerging markets and frontiers team, based in London, will be co-led by Fraser and Vecht. Fraser will hand over his GEM Core strategy portfolio management responsibilities to Vavrek during a six-month transition period.