The term “emerging markets” is obsolete. Emerging markets represent half of the world’s economy, their financial markets are large and liquid with volatility, corporate governance and government policies very similar to developed markets. These traditional distinctions between emerging and developed markets, once pronounced, have disappeared.

Because of their high growth rates, emerging markets are now too large to be ignored. On a purchasing power parity basis, China’s GDP is larger than Japan’s; India’s is larger than Germany and Russia’s larger than the UK. The BRICs (Brazil, Russia, India and China) are as large as developed Europe. Surprisingly, the rest of emerging markets (ex-BRICs) collectively command a greater share of the global economy than the USA.