Ernst & Co. thinks bank customers are ready to invest in Asia - so much so that the company is mounting a marketing campaign for its new Ernst World Funds to prove it.
The New York-based investment bank has enlisted the help of the funds' distributor, Bisys Group, Little Falls, N.J., and hired a full-time sales coach to drum up business from commercial banks.
"These funds give banks a chance to sell a totally international fund family that doesn't compete with their own funds," said Robert A. Bonelli, executive vice president of Ernst & Co.
The World Funds include an Asia stock fund and a global fund that invests in natural resource companies.