For more than a decade, emerging markets have proved one of the most exciting areas of investment, but the sector has not been without its dangers. Private and professional investors alike have continuously been attracted by the promise of riches on offer from countries such as China, India, Brazil and Russia but, as often as not, have been left with their fingers burnt.

Investing in Emerging Markets: The BRIC Economies and Beyond tempers the undoubted causes for emerging market optimism with a healthy dose of reality, illustrating how for every argument in favour of investing in the sector there are one or more reasons to tread very carefully indeed.

In the wake of the credit crunch and ensuing market turmoil, it also analyses where the emerging markets now fit within the global investment landscape. With the economies of the US, Europe and Japan hit by an economic crisis very much of their own making, has the credibility gap between developed and developing markets narrowed? Has the playing field become more level?

Investing in Emerging Markets: The BRIC Economies and Beyond offers a fresh, clear-eyed and objective look at an area that can only grow in importance over the next decade. It balances a realistic appraisal of the opportunities on offer from the emerging markets with a pragmatic assessment of the potential pitfalls facing investors, in the process providing an accessible introduction to newcomers and more experienced investors with a valuable and compact point of reference.