Insparo Asset Management has responded to an upsurge in demand for its award winning fund by appointing Man Investments' Emma Robinson as Investor Relations Manager.

Emma will support Jamie Allsopp in marketing the Africa and Middle East Fund, which has returned over 45% since the start of 2009, to a range of hedge fund and emerging market investors in Europe, Middle East and the US. Emma will also take on responsibility for the firm's investor communications and client liaison.

Emma's appointment is the first dedicated investor focused appointment the firm has made, and represents the latest development in the firm's marketing drive of its fund. After focusing on investment for the first year of the fund's cycle, the firm has increased its marketing activity in the last year, most notably with the appointment of Jamie Allsopp in a combined investment management and marketing role.

Before joining Insparo, Emma garnered a strong insight in the hedge fund industry with two years at Man Investments as an institutional sales assistant. In this role, Emma gained experience of investor relations across the board, and at the time of her leaving, she had taken on responsibility for Man's UK consultant relationship management.

Prior to joining Man, Emma was with recruitment consultancy Venn Group. She holds an Investment Management Certificate.

Jamie Allsopp said: "The return our Africa and the Middle East strategy has made in the last 18 months has, unsurprisingly, drawn a lot of attention from investors. Frontier markets are in relatively robust fiscal positions when compared to their OECD counterparts, and the investment community is generally underweight this enormous growth opportunity. With the confluence of our historic returns and our optimistic outlook for our region we feel that it is the right time to increase our capabilities in client services. Bringing Emma on board will allow us most importantly to improve our service to our existing investors but also to streamline our communication with potential clients."

Emma added: "I'm really excited to be joining such a rapidly growing firm. Insparo are already one of the top performing funds in its sector but there is a tangible determination among the team to push on even further. They have a strong vision for the future of the firm, and I am really looking forward to helping us realise that vision."