Brazil and Russia now look like good buying prospects
International political risk has been turned on its head by the British vote to leave the EU, write Natasha Doff and Ksenia Galouchko
BRITAIN’s vote to quit the EU has flipped perceptions of global political risk on their head. Brazil’s new government and Russia’s isolation represent a buying opportunity for Europe’s biggest asset manager as political chaos across the continent erodes developed economies’ traditional haven status. Even before the Brexit vote, price swings for bonds in advanced nations had eclipsed those of lessdeveloped peers, exposing investors to greater risk.
“You can certainly make the case that some emerging markets are now safer than parts of the developed world,” says Sergei Strigo, head of emerging-market debt at Amundi Asset Management in London, the continent’s biggest investment firm at $1-trillion under management, which had positioned for a British vote to leave the EU.
Strigo is considering adding more Russian and Brazilian hard-currency bonds to his portfolio and is overweight on Argentina and Mexico. He is not alone. While global markets tanked on Friday on the referendum results, BNP Paribas Investment Partners loaded up on exposure to Russia, Colombia and SA through credit-default swaps.
Analysts at Société Générale touted local-currency notes in Moscow on Monday for their “safehaven glow”, while stocks traded in Johannesburg attracted the most inflows last week since March 2009. Investors put $1.75bn into US exchange-traded funds that invest in emerging-market debt and equities last week, the most in three months, data compiled by Bloomberg show.
Volatility in stock-trading exhibited starkly different reactions. Thirty-day volatility in US, European and UK markets spiked after the vote and remain above where they ended the first quarter.
The reaction from traders of stocks in Brazil, Russia, India and China, meanwhile, was fairly muted, with 30-day volatility levels barely moving, leaving them down or almost flat versus March 31.
By tarnishing the appeal of countries typically associated with predictability and stability, the UK’s vote is making emerging-market risks more palatable for those seeking a refuge from negative yields. Brexit has sent the pound into freefall and left investors scrambling to understand how the weakened EU will affect Europe’s economic and political future.
For all its political risk, buying UK government debt due in 10 years offered a yield of 0.98% as of 8.34am in London on Tuesday. In Russia, Brazil and SA, the same notes pay between 8.5% and 12%.
“It’s best to stay away from European assets due to the uncertainty, and it’s worth looking at developing markets, where Russia and the rouble look quite attractive,” says Yury Tulinov, head of research at Rosbank PJSC in Moscow.
“At a time when the European integration is breaking apart, a relatively isolated Russia looks like a safe haven for investors.”
US and EU sanctions against Russia imposed two years ago have allowed it to disentangle itself from trade ties with Europe that are rocking developed markets. Political overhauls in Brazil and Argentina driven by former Wall Street bankers in government posts are winning back investors after years of recession and spendthrift policies that swelled budget deficits.
“Ironically, the sanctions have helped protect Russia,” says Jan Dehn, head of research at Ashmore Group, which manages $51bn of emerging-market assets. “Russia has in effect been forced to not rely on European or US banks, so it is relatively insulated.”
A Bloomberg index of developedcountry bonds handed investors higher absolute annualised returns of 11% so far this year versus 9% for emerging-market peers’ dollardenominated debt.
The UK referendum has thrown the nation into upheaval: Prime Minister David Cameron has resigned and speculation is growing that Scotland, where citizens voted overwhelmingly to stay in the EU, will seek a referendum on sovereignty. S&P Global Ratings removed the UK’s AAA grade on Monday, stripping it of its last remaining top rating among the three major companies.
While politicians wrangle over Brexit negotiations that could take two years, a climate of uncertainty may continue to hang over the region’s markets and prompt US and European central banks to keep stimulus intact for longer, another boon for the bond market.
Most countries in Latin America are going through a period of relative calm. In Argentina, President Mauricio Macri has spent his first months in office taking steps to remake the economy in a fashion more friendly to investors. And Brazil seems closer to resolving a months-long political standoff as acting President Michel Temer takes the reins while Dilma Rousseff awaits an impeachment trial.