A remark often made by traders is that once individual investors catch on to a trend, it is likely to have peaked. In some cases this may be true – once your taxi driver starts doubling as stock picker, it is often a signal that a bubble has formed.
This year, individuals have been shifting money out of US stocks and into emerging market equities on a scale not seen before. And, guess what? They have made the right bet.
So far, in dollar terms, Brazil's Bovespa ranks as the best-performing stock index of 2009, notching up over 140 per cent. In second place comes Russia's RTS, with returns of 129 per cent. Jakarta's stock market is third with gains of 115 per cent. Most of the top 10 are emerging economies, with the exception of Norway.