Frontier Markets

Meketa

Edmund Walsh

Research

11 Pages

Meketa Investment Group outlines how frontier markets function as a distinct asset class, emphasizing their structural differences from emerging markets and the portfolio implications of investing in less developed, illiquid economies. The paper highlights diversification benefits but notes extreme drawdowns, including a 53% decline during 2008, raising questions about whether the return premium justifies the risk.

Key Takeaways

Severe Drawdown Risk: MSCI Frontier Markets Index fell 53% in 2008, with some markets like Serbia dropping 84% and still not recovering after 10 years.
Meaningful Market Scale: Frontier markets represent roughly $11 trillion GDP and $1.1 trillion equity market cap across about 2 billion people globally.
Higher Structural Costs: Corruption can reduce growth by over 2% annually, while wider bid-ask spreads and taxes materially increase transaction and ownership costs.
VIEW FULL REPORT

Join our newsletter to have all of this content + Exclusive Newsletter Bonus Content delivered to your inbox every week

Related Content

Markets
The Great 2026 Reset…
May 2026
Markets
Could you wait a quarter of a century?
May 2026
Markets
Morningstar Markets Observer Q2
May 2026

The information contained in this communication is of a general nature for informational purposes only, and does not constitute financial, investment, tax or legal advice. The information contained within this communication reflects the opinions of those referenced herein, and do not reflect the opinions of The Idea Farm, L.P. and its affiliates. Such opinions expressed herein are as of the date of production and are subject to change at any time without notice due to various factors, including changing market conditions or tax laws. Where data or information prepared by third parties is presented, no representation, warranty, or undertaking, expressed or implied, is given to the accuracy or completeness of such information by The Idea Farm, L.P. or any other person. While such sources are believed to be reliable, The Idea Farm, L.P. does not assume any responsibility for the accuracy or completeness of such information and does not undertake any obligation to update the information contained herein as of any future date. Any links to third party websites are offered only for use at your own discretion. The Idea Farm L.P., and its affiliates, are separate and unaffiliated from any third parties listed herein and are not responsible for their products, services, policies or the content of their website. All investments are subject to varying degrees of risk, and there can be no assurance that the future performance of any specific investment, investment strategy or product referenced directly or indirectly in this communication will be profitable, perform equally to any corresponding indicated historical performance level(s), or be suitable for your portfolio. Past performance is not an indicator of future results.

Scroll to Top