Local fund invests abroad

A recent homegrown option for rich Lebanese to invest in a fund with global reach is being pushed into the market by Banque Libano-Francaise (BLF) — in fact, it is the only such locally founded fund, according to the bank. Domiciled in Luxembourg but managed by the BLF Fixed-Income Desk in Beirut, the fund comes with a track record of six-plus percent annual returns and, more interestingly, with a three-person board whose chairman is an independent director.  Incepted in September of last year, BLF’s Total Return Global Bond Fund has been marketed to BLF clients since January and has just completed formalization of disclosure and governance practices, which include four annual board meetings and compliance with regulatory regimes in Luxembourg, Switzerland and Lebanon. Besides its promise on governance, the investment paper comes with a hope to co-create a local asset management industry, says Jamil Koudim, head of Fixed Income at