Melting National Economies: What Investors Need to Focus on in the Emerging Global Markets

Recently, a roundtable discussion regarding the future of US economics was carried out by Black Enterprise, a business magazine in the United States. Members of the assembled roundtable committee included financial advisers and strategists from companies like Oppenheimer & Co. and Wealth Management Network.

Here’s what the experts have to say.

Optimism amidst negative market conditions

As we already know by now, the United States economy is suffering from countrywide recession, and there has been a domino effect to dollar-pegged economies around the world.

According to Gail Perry-Mason, VP for financial services of Oppenheimer & Company:

“In the United States, it's going to be slow growth. I still think there is growth there. No matter who you are or what you do, there is always some opportunity. You're going to get opportunity with diversification. Our firm is looking at maybe 8% but more overseas.”

Overseas growth is a large determinant in the United States economies, given that most of its production is carried out elsewhere. Inexpensive labor markets abroad offer US companies good opportunities to optimize competitiveness to expand further.

Perry-Masons’s view had been supported by David Hinson of the Wealth Management Network, which is based in New York:

“I think 2009 is going to be a very good year for investing. I think, though, that we are going to see a lot of volatility in the market. Over the past couple of years, much of the returns have been made in spurts, short periods of time.”

Hinson further explains the volatility of the 2009 market:

“I think we're going to see an increase this year in market volatility because the issues that we are facing in the U.S. economy and the global economy are fairly traumatic. But I believe that we will see that stocks will outperform bonds in 2009. I believe that active management will outperform passive management. I believe that international equities and emerging markets will outperform U.S.equities.”

Such positive outlooks only serve to bolster the regulation that is being implemented selectively for the largest losers in the near-meltdown in the US. Losers include General Motors, which had met with the US Senate many, many times for the state-sponsored financial aid.

Transnational markets

Transnational markets are being seen as the last bastions of progress in US economy. The rationale behind this prediction is the fact that most trans-border mergers and transnational expansions are stabilizing on their own, without state regulation.

Outsmarting the rest of society is the way to go, according to Jan J. Williams of the AXA Advisors from Atlanta:

“The world is a global market now like never before. There is no historical precedent. Never before have we had emerging markets that have stabilized. In previous times, we always had emerging market opportunities, but there was always a lot of risk associated with [them] because of the political situation in those countries and also the lack of an infrastructure to build on.”

“Now, you look at emerging markets and they have exceeded us. For example, if you look at India, Pakistan, Indonesia, Malaysia, you look at the industries there [that have been] built with brand new technologies, facilities, and production capacities--all new infrastructure that is far ahead of where we are.”