As the Fed moves towards rate cuts, some have heralded the imminent resurgence of “emerging markets”. But what are they referring to? Kenya or Qatar? Korea or Colombia? Commodity exporters or tech titans?
Whether in equities or in bonds, the term “emerging markets” no longer does justice to the wide array of constituents within the various EM indices created to attract investor interest in the first place.
What is the best definition of an emerging market? It is every country bar 10 “legacy” advanced economies. The EM residual accounts for 87 per cent of all countries, 85 per cent of the world’s population and just under 50 per cent of global GDP. And it accounts for roughly a third of global financial assets, according to Jon Anderson at EMAdvisors Group. In a sense, the current EM definition designates almost everyone while defining almost nothing (except hope).