Scotia Asset Management L.P. announced today the launch of Pinnacle Emerging Markets Equity Fund. The fund is suitable for investors with a long-term focus who are seeking exposure to the growth potential of emerging market equities.

The fund is managed by Pablo Salas, managing director and senior portfolio manager of Trilogy Global Advisors, LLC, a New York-based boutique advisory. Salas and affiliated portfolio manager and chief investment officer Bill Sterling have more than 40 years of combined experience in emerging market equity investing.

“Pinnacle Emerging Markets Equity Fund offers investors access to high quality companies in some of the world’s fastest growing economies,” notes Glen Gowland, president and CEO, Scotia Asset Management. “The Trilogy team brings the experience, expertise and disciplined investment approach to help investors with a global perspective seize opportunities and manage risk in these dynamic markets.”

“We believe that identifying both early stage and traditional growth profiles among globally dominant and domestically competitive emerging market companies helps provide the best investment results,” notes Salas. “Our stock selection process emphasizes primarily bottom-up company research supported by extensive quantitative screening and is complemented by top-down macroeconomic risk analysis.

“We believe that developing economies should continue to benefit from favourable demographics, stronger fiscal positions and growing domestic consumption,” adds Sterling. “Coming out of the credit crisis, emerging market economies appear to have greater capacity to increase both private and public sector lending compared to the developed world. Domestic demand themes including consumption, housing investment, and infrastructure development are key factors underpinning their stronger growth prospects.”

Pinnacle Funds are a family of investment pools offered and managed by Scotia Asset Management L.P. and available exclusively through ScotiaMcLeod, a division of Scotia Capital Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of, The Bank of Nova Scotia (TSX:BNS).

IE