BlackRock Frontiers, managed by Sam Vecht (pictured), says that over the six months ended 31 March 2014 the total return on its net asset value was 7.8% in Sterling (11.0% in US dollars). The return lagged that of the MSCI Frontiers Index which returned 11.2% in Sterling and 14.4% in US dollars. The report attributes the underperformance to BlackRock Frontiers’ holding of Gulf Keystone (after unexpectedly poor oil reserve figures in Northern Iraq) and not holding as much as the benchmark in United Arab Emirates (which performed strongly in the run up to its inclusion in the MSCI Emerging Markets Index).