Gramercy Funds Management, a dedicated emerging markets investment firm, appointed Mohamed A. El-Erian to the new position of chair of the firm.

El-Erian has been an investor and senior advisor to Gramercy since April 2019. His work with the firm has focused on global macroeconomic themes and their implications for emerging market investments.

In this new position, El-Erian will actively contribute to Gramercy in the following areas:

  • Providing the investment team with global, regional and country perspectives on economic, market and geopolitical developments
  • Offering insights on a range of investment-related matters (in particular, global investment trends and their immediate and longer-term impacts on emerging markets asset classes)
  • Helping to decode economic and policy developments, focusing on their potential emerging markets effects
  • Developing macro themes that inform and influence individual trades
  • Advising on specific investment issues, including multi-asset allocations

“Over the last year, Mohamed has made a material contribution to our business. In this new role, he will further help ensure that Gramercy realizes its mission of having a positive impact on the well-being of our clients, portfolio investments and team members,” Robert Koenigsberger, managing partner and CIO of Gramercy Funds Management, said. “Mohamed is a perfect fit for Gramercy as he is one of the most brilliant top-down decoders of macro themes, an investor who can transform those themes into investable ideas and he has long shared our passion for emerging markets.”

“It has been a real joy and honor to work with Gramercy over the last 16 months, especially on issues and in an area that I am very passionate about. Having gotten to know well the team and investors, my already-high respect and admiration for the firm has only grown. As such, I am excited to take on this new role, particularly at a time when we are all looking to navigate the unusual uncertainty caused by the COVID-19 shock,” El-Erian said. “Gramercy is exceptionally well positioned to be at the forefront of innovative solutions to the myriad of challenges facing both investors and issuers in emerging markets, impacting the people they serve and employ.”

El-Erian is president-elect of Queens’ College, Cambridge University and chief economic advisor to Allianz. Prior to that he was CEO and co-chief investment officer of PIMCO (2007-14), which he originally joined in 1999 to lead its emerging markets portfolio management team. He served as chairman of the Global Development Council under President Obama, spent 15 years at the International Monetary Fund, where he was a deputy director, and was CEO and president of the Harvard Management Company. He also spent time as a managing director at Salomon Smith Barney/Citigroup in London. He has served as professor of practice at the Wharton School (University of Pennsylvania) and senior global fellow at the Lauder Institute.

El-Erian is a member of the IMF’s External Advisory Group, a trustee of several non-profits (including serving on the executive committee of the NBER) and a board member of Barclays and Under Armour. He is a contributing editor at the Financial Times and a columnist at Bloomberg, in addition to having written two best-selling books on economics and finance.

Gramercy is an emerging markets investment manager based in Greenwich, CT, with offices in London and Buenos Aires.