Endorsing emerging markets

Why are investors shunning emerging markets? Could this asset class be an attractive choice for long-term growth? It is true that emerging markets have recently delivered poorer returns relative to developed markets, primarily on the equity side. Over the three years to the end of April 2015, the MSCI World Index climbed 46% in US dollar terms. The MSCI Emerging Markets Index paled in comparison, rising just 10%. These areas of the world face near-term headwinds, such as more modest growth and the impact of central bank actions in the developed world. But investors who overlook emerging markets, whether in Australia or elsewhere, do so at their own risk. Not only are they underestimating the ongoing structural changes in these countries, they are also often misled by common myths about the asset class. My colleague, Andy Budden, discusses emerging markets in more detail in the attached paper.