MutualFundWire.com: Two International Funds Take 'Bottom-Up' Approach

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Thursday, April 27, 2000

Two International Funds Take 'Bottom-Up' Approach

Kemper Funds has begun the transition to a research-driven investment strategy for two of its international funds. First, the Growth Fund of Spain, an open-end fund investing primarily in Spanish equity securities, has become Kemper International Research Fund.

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A collection of regional portfolios, the fund does not use regional rotation as strategy. With particular focus on analysts' top recommendations across all major regions, the fund is not constrained by a specific style such as growth or value and the value-added is in the stock selection. Under normal market conditions, the fund invests at least 65% of its total assets in common stocks or large non-US companies, i.e. those with market capitalizations of $1 billion or more. Applying in-depth fundamental research, the fund is managed to achieve long-term growth on investors' capital primarily through appreciation of its common stock holdings, and to a lesser extent through dividend and interest income.

Portfolio management looks for investment opportunities in Europe, Japan, the Pacific Rim, Latin America and other emerging markets (Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Africa). The fund's benchmark is the Morgan Stanley Capital International EAFE + Emerging Markets Free Index, which includes 45 countries.

Kemper Emerging Markets Growth Fund also has adopted a strategy similar to that of Kemper International Research Fund. Previously, the fund was managed with a strategy combining bottom-up research, a growth orientation, and top-down analysis. The portfolio will be maintained as regionally neutral to its benchmark, the IFC Emerging Markets Investable Index.

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