Brookes makes first foray into EM equities after sell-off

Buys into Latin American fund

Schroders' head of multi-manager Marcus Brookes has begun buying into emerging market equities for the first time since the sell-off across the region in August, and expects to increase his allocation further in the coming year.

The manager (pictured), in charge of the firm's six multi-manager portfolios, has lifted his weighting to emerging markets from 0%, as valuations have fallen to levels too low to ignore. "If something has depreciated 50%, a 0% weighting is wrong," Brookes said. "We have just started topping up our allocation after the August sell-off, and we anticipate buying more in 2016." Brookes has bought into Findlay Park's Latin American fund, managed by Rupert Brandt, primarily as a play on a recovery in the Brazilian economy. "We are not sure how much more can go wrong in Brazil," the multi...