Utilico Emerging Markets Trust (UEM)

Yeah, it's interesting,

because it's sort of the same story that we talked about before.

Do you think it's just been brought more into investors' attention that emerging markets have this ability to move more quickly, that they've sort of matured and come of age, whilst the West is sort of struggling really with, you know, a victim of its own success over the years and they're sort of stuck in the middle of this conflict in the Middle East.

What's changed? terms of the mindset

i i think emerging markets have focused on the fundamentals you know they know that they're if you want middle class and and and urbanization ambitions and and expectations mean they have to invest in infrastructure they have to unlock the value within the economy so that's you know rail road port And they have to enable the middle class to thrive.

So that means investment in digital infrastructure and digital currencies.

And all of this is a 10, sometimes 20 year program.

And India is on that journey.

The Philippines is on that journey.

Most of Latin America is on that journey and they are constantly adding to their economic activity.

And just as one observation, if I look at Brazil, Brazil used to suffer when the world looked like it would run into difficulties.

And why was that? Partly, the emerging markets were exposed to the US dollar, no longer their case.

Partly, they were, in my language, balanced economies.

In other words, we're bumping along net exporters.

Brazil today, and I wouldn't know where they really are, but they're exporting 100 billion net, and it's moving to the upside.

Why? Commodities are pricing to the upside.

Do you think there's a permanent shift? We hope, obviously, that the conflicts in the Middle East draw to a close as quickly as possible, but do you think what's happening with emerging markets is now entrenched? Do you think this is now a permanent shift in the balanced trade powers?

I think they've got beyond the critical point, and therefore they've got natural resilience, I think.

Interestingly, when the war erupted in Iran, the US dollar strengthened, the emerging market currencies didn't even wobble.

And that just shows, I think, one, an understanding by investors that the underlying economies are robust and they have coherent plans and opportunities.

And two, I think it's a recognition that the US is no longer the powerhouse that it used to be.

It's certainly enjoying a real boom under AI at the moment.

But you know, the wider economies I think are strengthening