The BRIC quartet, the key emerging markets are diverging. The four countries that make up BRIC, that is Brazil, Russia, India and China, are no longer part of the same inter-dependant whole.Their economic trajectory is increasingly determined by whether they are subject to political reform, whether they are commodity importers or exporters, and whether they are vulnerable to the strength of the US Dollar.
This was all too evident in returns for investors last year. The MSCI India index has risen by approximately 35% over the past 12 months, after Prime Minister Narendra Modi came to power and began his ambitious programme of much-needed economic reform. The MSCI China index climbed around 17% with other Asian markets also putting in similarly robust performances.
