BlackRock's Vecht: Why I am more bullish than ever on Russia

Sam Vecht, head of BlackRock's emerging Europe equity team, has upped his weighting to Russia by 15% in recent months, on the view the country's equity market could significantly re-rate.

The manager said he is more bullish on Russia than he has ever been and exposure to the country has risen to 62% in his £128m Eastern European trust. He said on any valuation metric, Russian equities are too cheap to ignore, although the market is one of the most volatile in the world. Russia’s RTS index has shed 28% year-on-year, paying the price for its heavy reliance on global oil and gas prices, which have experienced a turbulent year. However, Vecht said the country’s strong top-down fundamentals are being misunderstood by investors, which has led to the entire market being mi...