Business New Europe Jason Corcoran in Moscow July 9, 2008A detsky sad, or kindergarten, is an unlikely neighbour for a Russian hedge fund, but James Fenkner is not fazed by a little background noise. The founder and chief investment officer of Red Star Asset Management runs a friendly and informal investment shop on an unassuming residential street situated between Moscow's boulevard and garden ring roads. Red Star's team of seven have their heads buried in work as two-dozen two-year-olds run about shrieking seven floors below. It's also a family affair - Fenkner's sister Elizabeth plays a key role as the head of marketing. The firm was set up in 2005 after Fenkner quit Troika Dialog where he had served seven years as head of research and initially as chief strategist. "The market was just ...

Financial NewsJason Corcoran in Moscow23 June 2008 Investment climate is steady as new leader continues reform agenda Russia’s equity markets are enjoying the country’s honeymoon period under its new leadership, but investors remain wary of how the power-sharing arrangement will evolve.The changing of the guard on May 7 saw Vladimir Putin hand over the presidential mantle to his protégé Dmitry Medvedev. Within hours, Medvedev had nominated his mentor Putin as Prime Minister.The smooth choreography proved to be a fillip for Russia’s main stock markets and sparked a buying spree by foreign funds.The MSCI Russia Index was the best performing emerging equity market last month, rising 15.7%, and outperforming the MSCI EM Emea index, which rose 7.3% in the same month. Inflows recorded in the third week of May of $542m (€350m) were the highest in Russia ...