BRIC-gimmick or investment theme?

Allianz Global Investors' Nick Smith and OBSR's Jack Aldhous provide the answers on BRIC funds.

What exactly is BRIC? Nick Smith: The acronym ‘BRIC’ was originally coined by a group of economists at Goldman Sachs back in 2003, led by Jim O’Neill. Essentially the thesis was that the BRIC countries, Brazil, Russia, India and China, had in place the necessary economic and political conditions to become among the world’s largest economies within 20, 30, or 40 years time. So by 2050, the BRIC economies could be the world’s largest set of economies. Why just pick four countries to invest in, why not the whole emerging markets? NS: The BRIC countries represent the largest emergi...