Should investors have backed Brazil's SMEs instead of commodity giants?

Richard Plaskett, client director in J.P. Morgan Asset Management's investment trust team, argues the case for investing in SMEs in Brazil to secure long-term growth opportunities.

Brazil faces a range of serious challenges – economic, political and fiscal. The long-touted powerhouse of South America is grappling with a falling currency, high inflation, government deadlock, and sliding revenues from commodities as world prices decline. The opening words of the International Monetary Fund's (IMF) conclusions after this year's Article IV consultation, the annual health check to which the IMF subjects its member countries, were that Brazil is in a "tough spot". Brazil: Basket case or buying opportunity? The IMF went on to spell out just what this means: "Diminis...