Unafraid of the edge

Fund profiles

Can you think of a riskier asset class than Chinese non-performing loans (NPLs)? That is the investment getting Jerome Booth fired up this year. The market is worth an estimated $500 billion, but barriers to entry could make buying the assets difficult.

Ashmore Investment Management, the London-based fund where Booth is head of research, has generated returns of 1,675% from its flagship Emerging Markets Liquid Investment Portfolio (Emlip) since launch. The fund trades liquid emerging market