GMO examines why emerging market value stocks remained unusually attractive even after an 18% rally in emerging equities during 2017. The paper also argues that elevated U.S. market valuations reflect investor comfort with high margins, low inflation, and stable growth rather than long term fundamentals.
GMO Quarterly Letter
GMO
Ben Inker, Jeremy Grantham
Research
15 Pages
Key Takeaways
Emerging Value Advantage: MSCI Emerging Markets rose over 18% in 1H 2017, yet GMO still increased exposure after forecasting 6.2% real returns for emerging value stocks.
Extreme Relative Opportunity: Emerging value’s “margin of superiority” reached its highest level since 1994, leading GMO to raise its maximum emerging allocation from 25% to 30%.
Behavioral Valuation Drivers: Jeremy Grantham argues stock market volatility has been roughly 18x greater than fundamentals justify, driven by investor reactions to margins, inflation, and GDP stability.