Virtus International, a leading Seoul, South Korea-based investment house, has published its 2016 “Asian Equity Survey” ahead of a December US monetary policy decision many believe could mark the beginning of a lull in the appetite for Asian and other emerging market equities.

The Virtus International survey sought opinions from the firm’s institutional and private clients on the outlook for emerging market equities in the event that the highly-anticipated increase in US interest rates is implemented in December.

The 18-question survey asked investors to, among other things, quantify their predictions for the outlook for Asian equities if the US Federal Reserve raises interest rates by 25 basis points in December.

The overwhelming majority of respondents indicated that the increase, if implemented, would have a negligible impact on equities in the main Asian stock exchanges. 71.3% felt that the rate hike was already factored into existing values while 18% said they expected stocks to fall. The remaining 10.7% said they were undecided.

“It’s clear that most of our clients remain confident of the upside potential for Asian equities going forward,” says Jun Li Park, chief investment officer at Virtus International.

“We tend to agree with sentiment that the rate hike, if it comes, will already be ‘baked into the cake’ as it were and equities will likely trade sideways. Of course, this means that if the Fed fails to deliver in December, stocks will rally hard so the message to be taken away from the survey is that now is a good time to increase exposure to emerging market stocks because downside potential is limited.”

The survey is available for free download on the Virtus International website.

About Virtus International:
Virtus International is an investment management services company that enables ordinary investors to navigate the turbulent waters of the global financial markets with a view to growing and preserving wealth. They provide a highly personalized service that is supported by a highly professional lineup of advisors, analysts and portfolio managers ensuring that everything they do revolves around what’s best for you.