Emerging market debt: It is more than sovereign debt

Short-term volatility

The emerging market debt asset class is worth around $26.3trn overall and spans numerous mostly developing countries, thousands of issuers, and a wide range of sectors.

The asset class has significantly matured over the past two decades and is no longer a play on commodities; it is today a broader, more diversified, and genuinely stronger asset class, but one needs to distinguish two separate categories - sovereign debt and corporate debt. The emerging market sovereign debt segment - issued by governments - accounts for most of the emerging market debt universe - $13.6trn, of which $12.6trn equivalent is denominated in local currency - and as such tends to attract the most attention from market observers. Erratic economic developments, political risks, ...