QWL Pty Ltd has launched a fund targeting high growth in Eastern Europe, hoping to take advantage of the region’s improving integration within the European Union, reported financialstandard.com.au.The QWL Euro III Fund is being seeded with a $10 million injection and will invest into listed equities through the Stockholm Stock Exchange-listed investment manager SEB Uhispanga Fondid (SEB).

Ross Hopkins, CEO of QWL Pty Ltd, says the fund will give investors access to a region not readily accessible but which is expected to post good returns. It should appeal to investors seeking to diversify beyond domestic Australian equities and direct property assets, he said. “The fund is designed specifically for those investors who seek access to the growth prospects in the Baltic States, Central and Eastern Europe and Russia,” said Hopkins.The emergence of the region for investment opportunities has been accelerating since the re-unification of Europe after the fall of the Berlin Wall 15 years ago, and the gradual admittance of former Warsaw Pact members to the European Union. “Economic reforms combined with strict monetary policies have fostered the development of the private sector. Market mechanisms have [also] worked to keep inflation low and led to expanded trade ties with Scandinavia and western Europe,” said Hopkins.QWL Pty Ltd is an Australian based specialist investment fund manager.