Emerging markets perform well and remain useful for portfolio diversity

Emerging markets funds have performed extremely well during the last year, in spite of difficult conditions for most worldwide markets during the first part of the year. The Standard & Poor's Global Emerging Markets sector overview noted that: "Correlations with developed markets, although higher than several years ago, are lower than those between developed markets, meaning that the asset class remains a useful tool for overall portfolio diversification." The report, which covers rated funds in the sector, stated that "while all managers recognise the continuing importance of country facto...