Harcourt Investment Consulting has launched Belmont (Lux) Global Emerging Markets, a multi-strategy fund of hedge funds focused on emerging markets.

According to the firm, the growth outlook for emerging markets countries remains strong, and the well-publicized decoupling story is real.

“Consequently, local hedge funds are able to generate returns which are largely decorrelated to other regions,” the firm said. “At the same time, the inefficiencies, which characterize emerging markets, generate ample opportunities for hedge funds to create superior risk adjusted returns.”

The fund is targeting annualized return of 400 basis points above Libor, net of fees, with 6% annualized volatility. Currently, there are 29 hedge funds in the portfolio.

Harcourt was founded in 1997 and is headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland. The firm currently manages some US$5.5 billion.