Love it or hate it: Why Russia is the Marmite of BRICs

Christopher Rose, partner at global legal practice, Squire Sanders, discusses the perception gap between private equity investors inside and outside of the Russian market.

Proponents point to exceptional returns, an enormous, underserved consumer market and an increasingly positive macro-economic outlook. Detractors cite corruption, bureaucracy and political risk. Like Britain’s famous Marmite food spread, investors seem to either passionately love, or vehemently hate, the taste of Russian private equity.  Market participants have good reason to be sweet on the asset class -- principally because it has made their investors lots of money. Statistics from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the largest and most active institutional investor...