Investing where we find the biggest mispricings

In emerging markets, there’s a small group of Chinese technology businesses that get all the attention. These firms make up a large part of the emerging markets index but offer few opportunities for the contrarian investor. Here, Rohit Chopra from Lazard Asset Management  explains where they’re finding opportunities today. 

“We’re looking for where there’s the greatest mispricings. We don’t want to invest in businesses that are well priced… Our allocation by country and sector is a function of where we have conviction.” 

Key points: 

• Markets are currently obsessed with a few major Chinese technology businesses that appear to be fairly priced
• At Lazard, they’re finding better opportunities in the financial sector, and in telecoms
• In emerging markets, scale is critical
• The financial sector is by far their largest weighting, making up more than 30% of the portfolio currently
• They’re finding opportunities in banks across Russia, Brazil, and South Africa, where economies are recovering, and the stocks are trading cheaply.  

Further insights

In a world where relatively few financial assets can be considered cheap, we believe emerging markets pose the greatest value. Find out more