Gramercy Funds Management announced in a press release that Mohamed A. El-Erian has been appointed Chair of the firm. El-Erian has been an investor and Senior Advisor to Gramercy since April 2019.
His work with the firm has focused on global macroeconomic themes and their implications for emerging market investments. “This has permitted Gramercy to strengthen the top-down framework that supports and augments its institutionalized bottom-up investment analysis in emerging markets”, stated the firm.
In this new position, El-Erian will provide the investment team with global, regional and country perspectives on economic, market and geopolitical developments; and will offer insights on global investment trends and their impacts on EM asset classes. El-Erian will also help to decode economic and policy developments, focusing on their potential emerging markets effects. Lastly, he will advise on developing macro themes that influence individual trades and on specific investment issues, including multi-asset allocations.
“Over the last year, Mohamed has made a material contribution to our business. In this new role, he will further help ensure that Gramercy realizes its mission of having a positive impact on the well-being of our clients, portfolio investments and team members,” said Robert Koenigsberger, Managing Partner and CIO of Gramercy Funds Management.
In his view, El-Erian is a “perfect fit” for Gramercy as he is one of the “most brilliant” top-down decoders of macro themes, an investor who can transform those themes into investible ideas and he has long shared their “passion” for Emerging Markets.
For El-Erian it has been “a real joy and honor” to work with Gramercy over the last 16 months in an area he is “very passionate” about. “Having gotten to know well the team and investors, my already-high respect and admiration for the firm has only grown. As such, I am excited to take on this new role, particularly at a time when we are all looking to navigate the unusual uncertainty caused by the COVID-19 shock,” he said.
“Gramercy is exceptionally well positioned to be at the forefront of innovative solutions to the myriad of challenges facing both investors and issuers in emerging markets, impacting the people they serve and employ”, he added.
El-Erian is President-elect of Queens’ College, Cambridge University and Chief Economic Advisor to Allianz. Prior to that, he was CEO and Co-Chief Investment Officer of PIMCO (2007-2014), which he originally joined in 1999 to lead its emerging markets portfolio management team. He served as Chairman of the Global Development Council under President Obama, spent 15 years at the International Monetary Fund, and was CEO and President of the Harvard Management Company.
Gramercy is a dedicated emerging markets investment manager based in Greenwich, CT with offices in London and Buenos Aires. The $4.75 billion firm was founded in 1998.