Fidelity EMEA delivers stellar performance

Launched in January 2008, the fund aims to generate long-term capital growth by investing in the less developed countries of central, eastern and southern Europe, Middle East and Africa. Despite launching during one of the worst possible times for markets, and focusing on a high-risk area, the fund has managed to deliver a stellar performance - year-to-date its cumulative performance stands at 23 per cent.

Fund manager Nick Price joined Fidelity as a pan-European analyst in 1998, becoming assistant manager of the European Growth fund in September 2004. In November 2005, he started running EMEA mandates and recently took over the reins of the group's global emerging markets fund.

Mr Price is a bottom-up stock picker who takes a value-based approach, seeking out opportunities to invest in undervalued, unloved companies with the potential to deliver solid returns for long-term investors. Liquidity is key and Mr Price will typically steer clear of companies whose shares aren't easy to trade.

The fund, which sits in the Investment Management Association's (IMA) specialist sector, invests across the capitalisation spectrum and across industry sectors, but is fairly concentrated, typically holding between 50 and 70 stocks. The fund will invest in countries that make up part of its benchmark, the MSCI Emerging EMEA Index, but can also invest in non-benchmarked countries.

The MSCI EM EMEA Index consists of eight emerging market country indices: Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Russia, Turkey, Egypt, Morocco, and South Africa.

The fund has its assets evenly balanced between the Middle East & Africa (45 per cent) and Europe ex UK (43.1 per cent). Its largest holding is in South African media company, Naspers, with an investment of 6.9 per cent. Stock weightings within the benchmark are typically capped at a maximum of 5 per cent.

Performance figures as at 12 November 2010

Source: Investors Chronicle, Morningstar*

Top 10 holdings

Geographic breakdown