@Aceboy - There is plenty of value in Emerging Markets. The issue is as a plain vanilla retail investor (part-time too in my case), you don't have the time, skill and/or resources to manage direct investments in frontier markets, dealing with geopolitical risks, immature and opaque capital markets, foreign exchange, tax treatment etc.
The best you can do is gain exposure to these kind of markets is through a listed fund manager or ETF. I happen to do that via ASIA, which has treated me well in the 3+ years I have held it. However, recent developments are prompting me to reconsider my investment, and it looks like I am in good company as many institutional investors (including Magellan) are also bailing out until the Chinese administration's recent actions targeting many large corporations wash out.
Even then, any foreign investor in China holds shares indirectly with VIE structures that are opaque by design, and can render your ownership stake worthless if the governments decide to change their policies e.g. invalidating foreign-listed shares of Chinese companies - those risks are particularly heightened in the current geopolitical climate.
If I am going to take that kind of risk, I would rather have someone like Hamish managing it, while I focus on markets that are more transparent and familiar to me, like Oz and the US.
(20min delay)