Mobius Investment Trust (MMIT)

Managed by Mobius Capital Partners (MCP) Emerging Markets and led by founder Carlos von Hardenberg, Mobius Investment Trust (MMIT) provides access to emerging and frontier markets, focussing predominately on small- and mid-cap companies that often escape mainstream investor attention. Since its 2018 launch, Carlos has championed this segment, citing limited research coverage has created inefficiencies and rich hunting grounds for high-alpha opportunities.

The team takes a private-equity-style approach to public equities, conducting deep, on-the-ground research and leveraging a two-decade founder network. They prioritise high-quality companies with strong balance sheets, sustainable profit growth, high margins, and lasting competitive advantages, whether through high barriers to entry or innovative business models (see Portfolio). Governance is also central, with MMIT integrating its proprietary ESG+C framework to assess sustainability, corporate culture, and shareholder alignment, helping mitigate risks and uncovering opportunities.

MMIT’s core convictions lie in India, supported by its youthful, well-educated population driving long-term growth, as well as in Taiwan and South Korea, leaders in tech and innovation. Exposure to China remains selective, focussing on companies exhibiting Western-style corporate structures and dominant market positions to mitigate risks like regulation, property instability, and deflationary pressures.

Since inception, MMIT has outperformed the MSCI EM Mid Cap and broader MSCI Emerging Markets Index, with strong stock selection and meaningful exposure to India and high-growth tech driving performance. However, a dip in Indian mid-caps, the ripple effect from the US tech sell-off, and its China underweight have weighed heavily on Performance so far this year.

Currently trading at a 5.8% Discount, wider than its five-year average of 4.8%, MMIT offers a potentially attractive entry point, providing differentiated emerging markets exposure or serving well as a complement to developed market-heavy portfolios.