OREANDA-NEWS. August 26, 2014. As reported previously, the Board of the Financial and Capital Market Commission (FCMC) approved the registration of Citadele bank subsidiary’s Citadele Asset Management IMJSC (CAM) new open-end investment fund "Citadele Eastern European Small and Mid Cap Fund".

CAM Chairman Uldis Upenieks, "The new investment fund has been established within our aim to offer attractive and relevant investment products for investors." The Fund will invest in small and mid-cap (up to 10 billion USD) equities without industry restrictions throughout the whole Eastern European region.

„So far the investments in Eastern Europe have been overly focused on large company stocks, so-called blue chips. Lower capitalization companies, for various reasons, have often received undeservedly little attention, although structural improvements in business practices and in corporate governance in many countries of the region over the years hold better future growth potential for this segment ", said Upenieks. CAM will exploit its more than 10 years’ experience in Eastern European financial markets to manage the new Fund. The new Fund's assets will be diversified across a number of industries and countries in the region.

In parallel, FCMC Board has also given permission to add to the new Fund assets and liabilities of two existing investment funds under CAM management - "Citadele Ukrainian Equity Fund" and "Citadele Caspian Sea Equity Fund.”

CAM Head of Fund Management Department, Andris Kotans, "Since the launch of these funds about seven years ago, unfortunately the economic and financial market development in the respective regions has not been favorable. As a result, it became increasingly challenging to provide a diversified, adequately liquid, and investment-wise attractive portfolio within the particular funds’ investment regions. Therefore, we believe that the investors of the merged funds will gain an investment product with a more balanced relationship of risk and potential return".