Ashmore, the London-based emerging markets specialist, recently launched a new special situations fund. The vehicle, Ashmore Global Special Situations Fund Five, will invest primarily in private equity and distressed and other debt instruments in emerging markets.

Mark Coombs, Ashmore’s chief executive, said deal flow in the emerging markets is “extremely strong” and the firm would prefer this fund to be significantly larger than the previous two.

GSSF3 and GSSF4 both managed $1.4 billion and $1.3 billion, respectively.

According to Jerome Booth, Ashmore’s Head of Research, strong local relationships, which can take years to build up, are the main barrier to entry for private equity firms looking to enter the emerging market space.

“The key to our approach has been to choose strong partners in-country and to be constructive in helping companies grow, achieve value and resolve specific problems,” said Booth. “Other competitors often have less capital than us.”