ETF investors who buy global emerging market equities might think that they are getting broad exposure to the developing world, but research shows this is far from the truth.
Instead, much of their money is being funnelled into nations that are arguably no longer “emerging”, having already reached developed status in the eyes of many, and the bulk of it is concentrated in just three countries.
Asia accounts for a colossal 78.3 per cent of the MSCI Emerging Market index, the most widely used EM benchmark, and China, Taiwan and South Korea alone now account for 63.5 per cent, according to data from Renaissance Capital, an EM-focused investment bank.