Hedge fund tries Africa
A new hedge fund is investing $125 million in Africa and the Middle East, areas where the fund managers say opportunities are huge. Sarah Gardner has more on whether this is a sign that Africa is the "last frontier."
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TEXT OF STORY
Renita Jablonski: A new hedge fund formed by wealthy investors in the U.S. and London is putting $125 million into the Middle East and Africa. London-based Insparo Asset Management is launching the new fund this month. It's a modest investment in the high-flying world of hedge funds, but it's a sign some see Africa as the "last frontier." Marketplace's Sarah Gardner has more.
Sarah Gardner: The fund's managers say the opportunities to make money in Africa are huge. African economies are closely tied to commodities and commodity prices around the world are soaring. Globalization expert Sebastian Mallaby.
So if you want to play on either oil or minerals or even agricultural potential with very high food prices, parts of Africa that are more stable is a smart place to go.
But stable has historically been hard to come by in many African countries. Richard Feltes watches global commodities markets at MF Global.
Richard Feltes: The short-term risk of course is the political instability, the lack of infrastructure. But over the long term for an investor thinking out over a decade or more horizon, it may be a very good bet.
The managers of this latest Africa hedge fund say they've been running a pilot portfolio for the last nine months, just to test the waters. It rose 17 percent in value the first three months of this year.
I'm Sarah Gardner for Marketplace.
