East Capital’s emerging markets expertise recognised with three prestigious fund awards

The East Capital Balkans fund has been awarded the LSEG Lipper Fund Award for Europe 2025 (Equity Emerging Markets Europe), celebrating its exceptional performance over the past three and five years. Likewise, the East Capital Global Emerging Markets Sustainable (GEMS) and East Capital Global Frontier Markets funds have both been named winners of the Mountain View Fund Awards 2025, recognising their outstanding performance in their respective categories.

East Capital Balkans Fund: A two-decade track record of success

The East Capital Balkans fund, which focuses on companies in Greece, Romania, Turkey, Hungary, and Slovenia, has consistently delivered strong returns, benefiting from long-term growth trends such as EU convergence, rising domestic consumption, and investment in transition markets. With a return of 202% over the last five years, driven by a 383% return on the fund’s Greek holdings, a 273% rise in the fund's Romanian holdings and a 266% rise in the fund’s Slovenian holdings, the Balkans fund continues to demonstrate the strength of East Capital’s investment process. *

"It’s fantastic to see the East Capital Balkans Fund recognised again this year by the Lipper Fund Awards," says Jacob Grapengiesser, Partner and Chief Investment Officer (CIO) at East Capital. "This fund turns 21 this year and for us it has always been about identifying great companies early, staying vigilant, and being active owners. I remember some of our earliest investments in the region—companies that had incredible potential but were often overlooked. This award is a testament to our hands-on approach, deep market knowledge, and belief in the long-term opportunities across the region."

Portfolio Manager Eglé Fredriksson adds, "Spending time on the ground and engaging directly with companies has always been a core part of how we invest. I’ve walked the factory floors, met with management teams in their home markets, and seen first-hand how these companies are developing. This recognition underlines the value of our ability to uncover strong businesses and invest with conviction in markets that are often overlooked.

Mountain View Fund Awards recognise East Capital’s global expertise

The Mountain View Fund Awards 2025 recognised East Capital Global Emerging Markets Sustainable (GEMS) and East Capital Global Frontier Markets funds for their performance. These funds focus on high-potential companies in emerging respective frontier markets, leveraging East Capital’s fundamental, high-conviction investment approach and sustainability-driven strategy. Over the past five years, GEMS has delivered an impressive return of 83% and the Global Frontier fund a remarkable 113% return, further highlighting the strength of our investment process in these dynamic markets. *

The Mountain View Fund Awards, well known in Austria and Germany, analyse and evaluate around 95,000 actively managed investment funds for private investors. The awards honour investment funds that have achieved the highest performance with the lowest risk over 12, 36 and 60-month periods.

Being recognised in these prestigious awards further solidifies our position in the DACH region and is a testament to our long-term strategy and focus on quality.

"Winning these awards is a great acknowledgement of the work our investment teams do every day," says Jacob Grapengiesser. "We focus on understanding companies from the ground up, taking a long-term view, and actively engaging with management teams. It’s about more than just numbers on a page - we visit these businesses, talk to their leaders, and get a real sense of how they operate. Our aim is to generate strong returns while investing responsibly and contributing to sustainable growth in emerging and frontier markets."

A continuing commitment to excellence

For more than 30 years, the LSEG Lipper Fund Awards have recognised funds and fund managers that consistently exhibit robust risk-adjusted performance over three, five and ten years relative to their peers. Similarly, the Mountain View Fund Awards highlight best-in-class actively managed funds based on objective, data-driven analysis.

East Capital invests in emerging and frontier markets worldwide. Since our founding in 1997, we have remained committed to being long-term, active, and responsible investors and owners. These awards confirm our commitment to identifying high quality companies with strong growth potential and actively engaging with them to create sustainable value for our investors. We’ve built relationships, supported businesses through market cycles, and remained steadfast in our belief that hands-on, responsible investing is the key to unlocking opportunities in these dynamic regions.

Read more about our award-winning funds here:

East Capital Balkans
East Capital Global Emerging Markets Sustainable
East Capital Frontier Markets

* 5-year performance period as of 19 March 2025.