Ariel Investments LLC, has earned its golden reputation on domestic stocks, and now the company will launch two international funds, Ariel International Equity Fund, ticker symbol AINTX; and Ariel Global Equity Fund, ticker symbol AGLOX.
“We want to own the ‘blue chips’ of tomorrow and are willing to go anywhere in the world to find these gems,” said Rupal Bhansali, senior vice president and chief investment officer of International Equities, who will manage the funds from New York.
Bhansali hails from MacKay Shields and has a 10-year track record of managing portfolios for that company. Rupal earned a Bachelor of Commerce in accounting and finance, and a Master of Commerce in international finance and banking from the University of Mumbai, as well as an MBA in finance from the University of Rochester where she was a Rotary Foundation Scholar.
The funds are no-load, which means that there is no commission fee or transaction cost involved in the purchase. Thus, if you invested $5,000 in a no-load fund, the total $5,000 works for you. A load fund does involve a transaction fee or commission, and that percentage would be deducted from the amount that would work for you. In addition, both funds will include an institutional share class at reduced rates for pension funds and affluent individuals.
The Ariel International Equity fund will invest in emerging and developing markets outside of America; the Ariel Global Equity Fund will invest in America and in emerging and developing companies globally.
John W. Rogers Jr. is chairman, CEO and chief investment officer of the multibillion-dollar firm, Ariel Capital Management. The Princeton graduate is widely respected as one of the most successful entrepreneurs and financial experts of his generation.
Rogers said previously that black families have yet to feel the end of the recession because, generally speaking, blacks bypass the stock market — where wealth is created — and instead, invest in their homes.
“We’re still not investing in equities in the stock market, we have more of our wealth in the housing market, and the housing market got hit by a recession and therefore we took a bigger hit than white Americans — who are still more heavily invested in the stock market,” Rogers says.
“Research shows that African Americans are not as comfortable in the stock market; not as comfortable with starting a 401(k) plan at work; and we are not compounding our money.”
