While things may appear dire for emerging markets at the moment, advisors and their clients with a contrarian angle might want to take another look despite the puke-worthy performance of this category. Valuations are at bargain levels compared to the rest of the global equity market. The forward price-to-earnings ratio is 13 for the MSCI EM index, which is a better value versus Japan (14.5) and the U.S. (19), according to Yardeni Research.
While nobody knows if emerging markets have bottomed, investor sentiment toward the group isn’t bright. And that could be a buy signal. Or as Sir John Templeton, once said, “The time of maximum pessimism is the best time to buy, and the time of maximum optimism is the best time to sell.”
Ron DeLegge is founder and chief portfolio strategist at ETFguide, and is the author of “Habits Of The Investing Greats.”