With the MSCI Emerging Markets Latin America Index of stocks down 12.8 percent so far this year, some experts say now may be the time to jump in and buy.
The index has vastly underperformed the broader MSCI Emerging Markets Index, which has dropped 4.4 percent this year.
But the Latin American swoon represents a contrast to the last 10 years, in which the Latin America Index produced an annualized gain of 13 percent.
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Investors say it's important to examine the region country by country.
"It's a mistake to look at Latin America as one big economy," Mark Eshman, chief investment officer at ClearRock Capital, told
The Wall Street Journal.
Brazil, the region's largest economy, has suffered sluggish growth over the past three years.
The country represents a "slumbering giant" whose economy could resume double-digit growth for the next few years, Peter Lannigan, head of emerging-markets strategy at CRT Capital Group, told The Journal.
Ken Liu, a global equities strategist at RiverFront Investment Group, likes Mexico. "It always has served as a strong manufacturing base for the U.S., but as wages rise in Asia, we've seen more companies move plants to Mexico," he told The Journal.
Will Landers, a senior portfolio manager for BlackRock's Latin American stock funds, prefers Brazil over Mexico.
"Brazil’s valuations are attractive, and there are certain sectors that look particularly attractive," he told the U.K. publication
What Investment.
"Only 12 percent of Brazilian GDP is derived from exports, making it less reliant on world events, while it has a strong and growing middle class of its own."
Mexico, meanwhile, is "priced for perfection," Landers said.
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