'Remarkable breadth': Rethinking risk in emerging markets

Are emerging markets (EMs) inherently riskier than their developed counterparts? This has long been the prevailing perception among investors, but I am far from sure that it invariably applies today.  Before trying to explain why, I should perhaps lay my cards on the table from the get-go and confess I have something of a vested interest in EMs. There are two reasons why my allegiances tend to lie in this camp. First, I grew up in Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo, Brazil, the son of a Brazilian mother and a South African father. They say your early years shape you for the rest of your lif...