Have the BRIC Nations Broken?

The once mighty emerging markets of Brazil, Russia, India, and China are currently experiencing the negative consequences that come with the title "Emerging Markets". Brazil and Russia are experiencing terrible recessions, China is attempting to control a stagnant market, and India is struggling with economic reforms. To give an indication of the severity of the situation, Goldman Sachs, whose former chief economist coined the title given to the BRIC countries, has recently pulled its BRIC fund after years of continued losses. 

What does this say about emerging markets as a whole? In retrospect, it is nearly impossible to sustain rapid growth for more than a decade. Ruchir Sharma, the head of emerging markets for Morgan Stanley Investment Management goes into detail on the trajectory of emerging markets, stating “the unusual circumstances of the last decade made [emerging markets] look easy. Now, there is a lot less foreign money flowing into emerging markets.”

Emerging markets used to rise and fall as one, but now they have diverged from each other. There will be economies experiencing severe recessions, and others experiencing tremendous inflows of investment and an overall rise in GDP. It all depends on the natural flow of the economy. However, even though the BRIC countries are currently experiencing hardships, it does not take away from their overall presence and power throughout the global economy.