Wealth managers’ ongoing incursions into emerging equity markets appear to have resulted in the annexation of a new super state. Forget the Brics. Last month, BlackRock built a case for the breakaway republic of “Chindia”. And in the search for growth, it’s not the only investment firm redrawing the map.

Merrill Lynch Global Wealth Management now considers China a “must have” for its equity portfolios, and India an “economic giant” with an equally resilient equity market. Fund manager Apollo Multi Asset Management now recognises “divides between the likes of China, India etc” and more indebted emerging economies. Even those adopting a passive foreign policy appear in thrall to these nascent powers: second quarter net inflows into Lyxor’s emerging market exchange traded funds (ETFs) were up 200 per cent on the previous quarter, to $900m (£564m), with Lyxor ETF China Enterprise and Lyxor ETF MSCI India the most popular single-country funds.