parisians embrace em risk

At the 2012 Expert Investor France conference, delegates were equally enthused by emerging and frontier market equities, with a net 35% planning higher weightings to both regions (see table).

However, at this year’s event – held last week at the Four Seasons Hotel George V – fund selectors expressed a strong preference for smaller developing economies. While a net 18% of delegates expected to increase their EM exposure, two-thirds planned higher frontier market weightings.

Indeed, no other equity region received such a positive response from the audience. Europe was next in terms of overall popularity with a net reading of 47%, followed by the US (39%).

It was a similar story in EM fixed income, with appetite for government debt turning negative over the past year while demand for higher-yielding corporate bonds remained positive (see table).

Expert Investor France delegates gave their views on a range of macroeconomic and investment topics. Platinum members can view a full breakdown of the event voting data here, as well as charts showing how French investor appetite for various asset classes has changed over time, here.