What makes an emerging market?

EMERGING MARKETS

Maria Merricks discusses how the definition of an emerging market is constantly evolving

The world is a different place since economist Antoine van Agtmael first introduced the term ‘emerging markets’ in the early 1980s. Yet 30 years on and the phrase still sticks, leading commentators to question this increasingly grey area and the modern definition of emerging market. The IMA’s official definition of funds in the Global Emerging Markets sector is those which invest 80% or more of their assets in emerging market equities as defined by the relevant FTSE or MSCI Global Emerging Markets index. Fund managers have mixed views on these indices and crossovers within sub-cate...