arbiter
JournalsAccount

Emerging Markets Plus: The Plus of Frontier Markets

Larry Speidell

Journal of Investing2026https://doi.org/10.3905/joi.2026.1.386article
AJG 1ABDC B
Weight
0.50

Abstract

Emerging Markets Plus blends frontier and emerging markets, and it may produce a significantly more efficient portfolio than emerging markets alone. This paper examines actual results of the MSCI Emerging and Frontier Markets Indexes over the mid-2014 to mid-2024 period. It finds that at an allocation of 25% could reduce risk by more than five times any sacrifice in return. An important feature favoring frontier markets is the index volatility that has averaged 3% below that of emerging markets, due to the low inter-country correlation among individual frontier markets. Another consideration is that both frontier markets and emerging markets are inefficient, so active management can often improve upon the index returns used in this paper. The main thing about frontier markets for international investors is their compelling diversification benefit. In addition, however, I like them for their economic growth, neglect, cheap valuation, positive demographics and wonderful people.

Open via your library →

Cite this paper

https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.3905/joi.2026.1.386

Or copy a formatted citation

@article{larry2026,
  title        = {{Emerging Markets Plus: The Plus of Frontier Markets}},
  author       = {Larry Speidell},
  journal      = {Journal of Investing},
  year         = {2026},
  doi          = {https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.3905/joi.2026.1.386},
}

Paste directly into BibTeX, Zotero, or your reference manager.

Flag this paper

Emerging Markets Plus: The Plus of Frontier Markets

Flags are reviewed by the Arbiter methodology team within 5 business days.

Evidence weight

0.50

Balanced mode · F 0.40 / M 0.15 / V 0.05 / R 0.40

F · citation impact0.50 × 0.4 = 0.20
M · momentum0.50 × 0.15 = 0.07
V · venue signal0.50 × 0.05 = 0.03
R · text relevance †0.50 × 0.4 = 0.20

† Text relevance is estimated at 0.50 on the detail page — for your query’s actual relevance score, open this paper from a search result.