Of the 531 respondents, 78 per cent said they expected emerging markets to continue to outperform developed markets, 13 per cent were unsure, with just nine per cent negative on the region.
| Can emerging markets continue to outperform developed markets? | |
| Yes | 77.60% |
| No | 9.20% |
| Unsure | 13.20% |
Source: Trustnet.com. Poll conducted 19-23 July. Respondents 531.
Figures from Financial Express back up the findings; the FTSE All-Emerging index, which measures the performance of the top 90 per cent of large and mid-cap emerging market stocks, has outperformed the FTSE All Share and the MSCI Japan indices over a one year period.
Performance over 1-yr
Source: Financial Express Analytics
"We buy into the long-term emerging markets story that a structural shift is happening towards those economies, but it won’t be a smooth ride – there will be a lot of volatility along the way," said Gavin Haynes, managing director at Whitechurch Securities.
"The story is not all about emerging markets, though. For stock pickers there are some good valuations out there on European equities which also have scope for dividend growth," he added.
Haynes pointed out that most investors are still underweight on emerging markets.
"To increase their exposure we'd recommend general funds run by top managers such as First State's Angus Tulloch or Hugh Young at Aberdeen [Asset Management], but investors should also look at specific countries, too," he advised.
Performance over 1-yr
Source: Financial Express Analytics
Over both a three and a six month period, the MSCI India has been a strong performer within the BRIC nations, outperforming China, Russia and Brazil on a return basis, and taking on less risk, too.
Source: Financial Express Analytics
There are 10 funds within the UT and OEIC universe which have a greater than 90 per cent exposure to India, and Fidelity's India Focus is the top performer over one year and six months. Managed by Teera Chanpongsang, the fund's heaviest weighting is in financials.
"I favour companies with the potential to deliver superior earnings growth over a one to two year time horizon, in particular, either emerging growth or unrecognised growth," Chanpongsang said in a recent note.