Financialisation has been an important theme since the inception of the RBC Emerging Markets Equity team’s portfolios and there are powerful macro analytics to support this. Emerging market (EM) financial stocks have closely tracked economic growth, creating a superior way for investors to gain access to this EM growth area.1 While banking penetration in EM remains low in comparison to developed markets we expect to see this rate expand in EM regions, especially when highly developed markets, such as South Korea and Taiwan where the penetration rate is even lower, are excluded; this brings development opportunities.
The team recognises that while there are potential investment opportunities within banks and insurance companies in EM, there are also challenges. This is especially true in EM countries where banks and insurance companies are state owned and are often required to support governments by lowering interest rates or lending to risky sectors. Fintech is growing in importance in EM but also poses a threat to businesses that have not been able to transition. Building a strong digital presence is key and IT investment is required to compete with pure digital players within the industry.
Value investors are required to be more selective, and to avoid companies that will not be able to generate economic profit and potentially further de-rate the company. When the team searched for a good Value company, Mexico emerged as a region that is under penetrated with a credit-to-GDP ratio of only 38% compared to 216% in the U.S., 260% in China and 60% in Brazil.2
Mexico also has a large proportion of adults who have no access to formal banking and, as such, we believe that the financial sector in Mexico will grow in the coming years. We have found an interesting way to play the secular growth segment and Laurence discusses how we are doing this through a mid-cap-sized bank.
