Edinburgh-based investment management firm Martin Currie is to launch a global energy fund. This new OEIC fund will be co-managed by Duncan Goodwin and Ruairidh Stewart and will be available to investors from 31 March.

The fund, which has firm client commitments in excess of £25 million ($35.8 million) pre-launch, will be a high conviction portfolio of 30-50 ideas from energy sectors worldwide. It is modelled on the energy portfolio of the firm’s Luxembourg-domiciled global resources fund.

Mr Goodwin and Mr Stewart are part of the firm’s six-strong global resources team. They will also draw on the regional expertise of Martin Currie’s China, Japanese, Asian and emerging markets teams.

“After a significant retrenchment in the share prices of energy companies, we believe this is an excellent time to invest in this part of the market. Not all energy companies will benefit equally however. With credit conditions tight, returns both within and across sectors are likely to diverge sharply, creating stock-picking opportunities for specialists,” said Andy Sowerby, managing director of sales, marketing and client service.

“We believe oil and natural gas prices could start to recover in the second half of 2009. This would be positive for commodity-leveraged sectors, such as exploration and production,” said Mr Stewart.