Aberdeen Standard Investments has launched a new fund investing in global mid-cap companies.

The Aberdeen Standard SICAV I - Global Mid-Cap Equity Fund will be managed by Anjli Shah and Harry Nimmo from the ASI Smaller Companies equity team.

The actively-managed fund, initially for sale in Luxembourg, Switzerland, Ireland and the UK, has an AMC of 1.5% per annum for retail investors.

ASI says that while many funds invest in mid-cap companies in the US and the UK there are only a handful of global funds focusing on this category.

The company points out that mid-caps make up 15% of all listed companies and believes they have significantly outperformed large cap peers over the long term.

Mid-caps also tend to be lower risk than small-caps, says ASI, so may appeal to investors who have concerns over small-cap risk and liquidity.

Harry Nimmo, fund manager, said: “This new fund is the natural extension of the smaller companies franchise. Relative to large caps, mid-caps are under researched, creating opportunities for active managers like ourselves. We believe this new fund is genuinely unique and offers something different for investors.”

Anjli Shah, Fund Manager, added: “Investing in mid-caps gives investors access to a diverse group of companies, many of which are industry leaders in niche market segments. Mid-caps offer many of the same attributes of fast-growing small-caps, but with less volatile returns. That’s why we think investors should consider an allocation to the asset class as part of their wider investment portfolio.”