Although Asian and emerging market strategies are drawing increased attention, partly due to the poor growth forecasts for the United States and European economies, financial advisers need to carefully consider existing direct and indirect exposures to the regions, research house Morningstar said in a report.
"Investment in Asian and emerging markets shares can provide diversification benefits to Australian investors, but investors and advisers need to pay close attention to ensure that they are not effectively 'doubling up' exposure and introducing unintended biases into investment portfolios," Morningstar said in a sector review.
"An increasing number of developed world-focused share funds provide exposure both directly and indirectly to the emerging world.
"Investors and advisers should also remain mindful of the high correlation between Australian and emerging markets shares, and how this could dilute portfolio diversification."
Morningstar reviewed 16 strategies available to Australian investors and found no reason to upgrade any of the strategies.
It downgraded three strategies.
The AMP Capital Asian Equity Growth strategy was downgraded from 'investment grade' to 'avoid' as a result of changes in personnel, in particular the departure of portfolio manager Karma Wilson in June, and the shift in investment process to a more value-orientated approach.
The Treasury Asia Asset Management New Asia strategy was downgraded from 'recommended' to 'investment grade' because of lower conviction.
"Although Peter Sartori and Eng-Teck Tan are seasoned investors, we have lingering questions about the overall robustness of the team's research efforts," the report said.
The Schroders Global Emerging Markets strategy was also downgraded from 'recommended' to 'investment grade', because of the relatively complex strategy and high fees compared to its peers.
Only the Platinum Asia and Colonial First State Global Emerging Markets Select strategies were awarded the top rating of 'highly recommended'.
