Duet Group, a $5.6bn alternative asset manager, has announced the Duet EM Frontier Fund and the Duet MENA Horizon Fund performance for 2015.

Both funds generated positive returns, outperforming their benchmarks in 2015.

Hedi Ben Mlouka, CIO of Duet Frontier Markets, said: "Duet frontier markets and MENA funds continue to serve investors well, helped by our commitment to on-the-ground research and investment experience in these markets.”

Duet EM Frontier Fund generated returns of +2.23% in 2015.

Launched in January 2013, it delivered its third consecutive year of positive returns and has generated 32.40% for investors since inception.

Performance comes in spite of a challenging environment for emerging and frontier market investors with the MSCI frontier emerging markets index down 20.41% in 2015.

Duet MENA Horizon Fund generated returns of +5.79% in 2015.

Launched in June 2010, it delivered its sixth consecutive year of positive returns and has generated 129.63% for investors since inception.

The fund’s performance in 2015 came in a challenging environment for investors in the Middle East and North Africa markets with the S&P Pan Arab index down 14.58% in 2015.

“We are particularly pleased that both funds generated these returns in an overall negative environment for these markets,” said Ben Mlouka.

Looking ahead Ben Mlouka expects the opportunities for these funds to continue widening, thus “allowing Duet investors to benefit from profitable exposure to frontier and MENA markets”.

“Debate around the Fed ‘hike’ continues to bemuse us. We see further tightening to be positive for frontier markets as it means that the global economy is stronger,” he said.

“In Africa, we are seeing stronger fundamentals in Kenya as improved liquidity along with rebounding tourism revenues have brought the economy back on track,” he added.