Russia?

dunstonh

Thats why investing in russia is very high risk and should only account for a couple of percent if that of your portfolio.

opinions4u

If it seems too good an opportunity to miss, why isn't the world jumping in?

Potential for big gains, but surely the political interference, mafia involvement and business culture mean this should be somewhere between nowt and very little as a percentage of your portfolio.

purch

Until the 'style' of Governance changes (which probably will be never) then it will always have to be considered high risk and will continue to be an 'emerging' economy

..........never a truer word....:rotfl: :rotfl:

wombat42_2

It p*ssed me off that Robin Geffen of Neptune fame visited Russia late last year and told the world that Russia was a stunning investment opportunity. He had 20% of Russia in his global fund. Brazil was a more obvious investment opportunity but he chose to select Russia. Much of Russia's opportunities riding on the back of commodities and (and so is Brazil) but in addition there are of course political tensions.

Unlike China, for example, about half the population of Russia dont live longer than 50 and the population is decreasing rapidly.

Primrose

With the current political posturings from Russia I personally would avoid it altogether. I've read in the press a few days ago that following BP's problems there international investment has been pulling out on a wide scale. One would have to be a brave person to invest there at the moment.

jamesd

Or a time to be buying a bit more, with regular purchases, while everyone else has decided to get out. What has changed about the fundamental economic position of Russia in the last month? Appetite for risk and perceived risk has changed. That's something that changes back over time. Similar stories with different reasons for the rest of the BRIC countries - whether it's anticipation of recession or ups and downs of commodity prices or little wars they are all transient events.

It's also worth looking at the world security position from Russia's viewpoint: a huge superpower developing in China on one side and NATO and the EU another one on the other side, moving closer to Moscow that has been the case for a long time now what used to be western Russia is joining the EU and NATO. With the US on the third side and Pakistan and India on the fourth, also growing fast. High time for sabre-rattling and some power demonstration given a screwup that didn't result in a certain minor country leader being told by Washington to forget about it and get comfortably into NATO first. Meanwhile Russia just proved to the rest of the former parts that getting into non-Russian alliances is a high priority, as we saw with Poland jumping for missile sites and increased strategic relationship with the US immediately to increase the chance that the US would intervene if Poland is threatened. Also count on more non-Russian gas routes being an increased strategic imperative for Western Europe. Russia just proved that it can turn the tap on one of the Russia bypassing pipelines any time it wants to.

Emerging markets aren't for those who hate volatility, though - except in great moderation. Funds that can invest in more than one country are a good idea as well, so the money isn't stuck in a country that's tanking... unfortunately every BRIC country has, so a BRIC fund is also not broad enough. Jupiter Emerging European fund may have reduced Russian holdings in July but it still suffered badly even though the fund manager did have other non-BRIC places to go.

If you want a less volatile way to do it look for a global growth tracker fund to stick to the stable core and a more adventurous one like Neptune Global Equity to concentrate on the latest hot prospects. Less growth potential but you're also less likely to see such a big drop in one go. And then you can let Robin Geffen of Neptune try to work out where the volatility is going to land next...

opinions4u

Russia has an insular history and recent actions (I'm talking more BP than Georgia) suggest they wouldn't think twice to grab the cash of Western investors as and when it suits, no doubt for the benefit of the local version of Mr Abramovich.

cloud_dog

I think Russia is well worth having in a portfolio. Having said that, it is high risk high reward / loss.

You could gain some exposure but diversify by going and emerging markets fund (with a percentage in Russia) or by using one of the BRIC funds (Brazil, Russia, India, China).

As a personal note, I would have exposure to Latin America and the Far East before looking at Russia.

Just make sure you understand the risks (political, currency etc) before investing.

EDIT: Btw, anyone else think cordobez two posts are spam?

Reaper

cloud_dog wrote: »

EDIT: Btw, anyone else think cordobez two posts are spam?

Yes. I reported them and their posts and logon have been removed.

wombat42_2

IMHO it makes more sense to put money into an Emerging Market or BRIC fund rather than singling out Russia. There would probably be a decent chunk of Russia in those funds anyway.