Still, the Gloom, Boom & Doom Report publisher sees a potential recovery for some emerging market economies, particularly Russia and Brazil, which have endured a recent slowdown.
“There are some that are extremely depressed that could have large rebound potential,” Faber said during a Tuesday evening panel discussion at the ETF.com Inside ETFs conference in Hollywood, Florida.
Stock prices have broadly fallen worldwide this year, with lower commodities prices and fears of a global slowdown contributing to investor concerns. Economies dependent on natural resources have been hit particularly hard. Brazil and Russia, once stars of the emerging world, have been damaged by oil as well as political issues.
While Faber has made a name on pessimism, he contended that bright spots for potential growth still exist in emerging markets. He pointed to Cambodia and Vietnam, among other Asian economies.
“I wouldn’t take an across-the-board negative view about emerging economies,” Faber said.
Another investor on the panel Tuesday stressed that market watchers should not package all emerging economies into one basket. Marten Hoekstra, CEO of Emerging Global Advisors, is particularly optimistic about growth prospects for India, the world’s second-most populous country.
His funds have attempted to benefit from consumer demand there through consumer discretionary and staple stocks, as well as health care, telecom and utilities companies. While Emerging Global’s India Consumer ETF (INCO) has fallen this year, Hoekstra touted its prospects for long-term investors as consumer spending power grows in India.
He stressed that the Indian economy does not rely on oil or natural resources, which reduces its downside risk if the commodities crunch persists.
“If you’re generally negative on oil, you’re probably bullish on India,” Hoekstra said.
Mark Yusko, founder and CEO of Morgan Creek Capital Management, said during his annual “bold predictions” talk on Monday that India had attracted his attention and would perform better than most emerging economies.
Despite Hoekstra’s optimism, widely followed commodities commentator Dennis Gartman, who was also on the panel Tuesday, said that he had no immediate plans to invest in emerging market economies.
“It is the continued reliance upon commodity prices that causes me a great deal of concern,” he said.
Gartman contended that corruption in some emerging market governments reduces the safety of investing in those locales.
- Source, CNBC
