Stuart Rae

As more Chinese companies get comfortable paying dividends, investors may find new sources of equity return potential.

In this episode, we speak with Stuart Rae, AB’s Chief Investment Officer—Emerging Markets Value. Stuart talks about how he first became involved in emerging market investing and highlights some of the interesting insights he uncovers when conducting his on the ground research.

Governance issues have long been a source of concern in emerging markets investing, but over the past decade, a persistent focus on capital management, disclosures and shareholder friendly policies in Japan have created a blueprint that Korea is now trying to emulate. Can the Korean market emulate Japan’s success? And who’s next?

The disruption and dislocation caused by Covid-19 taught us many lessons. Perhaps one of the most enduring lessons for global businesses was the fragility of their supply chains – many of which were at the mercy of one supplier and one market. Now companies are looking to future proof their operations, and well-positioned emerging markets outside China are set to benefit.

Since the end of the global pandemic, rising oil prices have seen the Middle East region flooded with cash. From a low of around $11 a barrel in 2020, to its peak at over $120 a barrel in 2022 – demand for oil has bolstered the wealth of some of the world’s already largest sovereign wealth funds.

There's a whiff of hope in the air across emerging markets. Recent equity market gains may signal the start of a broader recovery after years of underperformance.

Despite new challenges in emerging-market equities this year, value stocks have held up relatively well as changing conditions revive dormant recovery potential.

As China begins the year of the Ox, many investors are wondering whether another bull run is possible in 2021. Given that last year's rally was extremely narrow, we believe many parts of the market still offer pent-up recovery potential.

Chinese stocks have been resilient this year because of relatively modest earnings downgrades amid an early recovery from the virus-induced shock.

Tensions between the US and China are flaring up again. With pressure mounting on Chinese stocks listed in the US, including those widely held in emerging-market portfolios, investors need to consider how to prepare for the mounting risks.

Asian businesses are gradually rebooting after governments quelled the initial wave of the pandemic. Conditions may be improving for regional value stocks that were beaten down before and during the pandemic.

The current market outlook is bleak. But if the US and Europe take the right steps and follow China’s playbook, we believe the world could ultimately follow the Chinese markets’ road to recovery.

Growing fears about the coronavirus have hit Chinese stocks. While markets will remain unstable until China gets the outbreak under control, equity investors should revisit lessons from previous epidemics and consider the potential longer-term effects of the current crisis.

Now that the US and China have agreed to begin easing trade tensions, the fog over China's markets is starting to lift. Investors should consider Chinese equity opportunities that have been overlooked because of tariff fears.

China is the world's second-largest economy, but its equities are underrepresented in market indices and portfolios worldwide. With a growing stock market capitalization—and more inflows expected from greater index inclusion—foreign investors should take a closer look.

Complex ties between US and Chinese technology sectors are being tested by trade war tensions. But some steps taken by the US against Chinese multinational giant Huawei Technologies could backfire and spark a new phase of development for the Chinese technology sector.

China's rise as a preeminent economic power makes it impossible for globally minded investors to ignore. With the integration of China's domestic-listed equities and bonds into major global indices, the potential of investing in the broad economy is increasingly opening to the world.

African swine fever is ravaging China's pork supply and having a global impact on protein prices. For equity investors, the crisis serves as a reminder that even amid trade-war uncertainty, research into domestic trends can help investors access the country's vast stock market.

In the investing industry, we're all well aware that our business isn't a one-person endeavor. The basic problem-solving unit is quite often a group or team. But how do we create the right formula that ensures groups make thoughtful, effective decisions and avoid bad ones?

After MSCI decided today to boost the allocation to Chinese onshore stocks in its emerging-market indices, global investors are likely to pump more money into the market. But watch out for crowds. Flows into China are concentrated in a small group of large-cap stocks.

The Chinese stock market is changing at breathtaking speed and is on track to reach maturity faster than any other in history. Global investors have been reluctant to dive in, but there are good reasons to get acquainted with the companies serving the world's second-largest economy.

Whenever the Chinese economy slows and its stocks take a serious hit, investors have come to expect the government to unleash large-scale fiscal and monetary stimulus. Another heaping spoonful of sugar may do more harm than good this time around, however. It's time for the ailing market to take some medicine.

In our many travels through China to explore the changing market landscape, we've discovered countless companies and industries that are jumping ahead of the West. These leapfroggers are creating exciting opportunities for investors as China's equity and debt markets open to the world.

President Trump's plans for tariffs on about $60 billion of Chinese imports have rattled equity markets. Investors should begin to study which types of industries, countries and companies could win or lose if an all-out trade war erupts.