EMD: Why investors need a wake-up call

EMERGING MARKET DEBT

Most investors remain overly exposed to underperforming G7 government bonds. They are missing out on opportunities in real growth areas, writes Brett Diment, head of emerging markets debt at Aberdeen.

If you close your eyes and think back ten years, you will see a time when debt levels and fiscal deficits were high in emerging markets and there was little reason for concern about the ‘AAA’ part of the world. Today there has been a role reversal, with emerging market countries on the ascent and developed market country risk indicators clearly on a deteriorating path. However, while investors have recognised the need to diversify their equity portfolios into emerging markets, few have re-assessed their fixed income portfolios in a similar way. Unfortunately, the majority remain overly e...