EM Fund Stock Picks & Country Commentaries (September 13, 2026)

As of the middle of September, some July/August fund updates (our continuously updated post containing all funds is here with research prior to July removed) are available along with new emerging market research starting with some non-EM pieces covering stocks:

• 🔬🇺🇸🚩Food system efficiency: investing for positive change (BaillieGifford) – Key points

  • Rising food demand, fertiliser dependence and water constraints are increasing the need for greater food-system efficiency.

  • Two holdings – Deere & Co (NYSE: DE) and Ecolab Inc (NYSE: ECL) – address opposite ends of the food system and together tackle some of its most persistent inefficiencies.

  • By helping food producers reduce water, energy and waste, both companies demonstrate how measurable environmental benefits can reinforce long-term investment opportunities.

• 🎥📝🌍🚩 Greek loans, Polish denim, German cookers: the new shape of European growth (BaillieGifford) 32:11 Minutes – Key points

  • Joe Faraday became manager of the Baillie Gifford European Growth Trust and head of our European Equities Team earlier this year

  • He has reshaped the portfolios to broaden the mix of growth drivers and sectors included

  • That includes new investments in the Greek bank Piraeus Financial Holdings (ASE: BOPr / FRA: BKP / BKP0 / OTCMKTS: BPIRY / BPIRF) , the fast-growing Polish fashion retailer LPP SA (WSE: LPP / FRA: 1RY) and the German commercial oven manufacturer RATIONAL AG. Explore this page

🗄️ Fund documents / updates; ⚠️ Disclosures or restricted access e.g. based on your location, investor status, etc.; 🇼 Wikipedia page; 🔬 Research analysis (including articles/blog posts from fund managers, etc.); 🎥 Video; 🎙️ Podcast; 🎬 Webinar; 📝 Transcript; 📰 Newspaper/magazine article; 📯 Press release; 💻 Substack/blog/website article; ✅ Our own posts; 🗃️ Linked archived article; ⏰ Upcoming webinar or event.

📈 Contributors; 📉 Detractors; 🏧 Transactions; 🚩Discusses/mentions stocks by name.

Disclaimer: We usually use Deepseek to summarize or extract stock names and assign performance emojis. Like all AI, Deepseek is not perfect and regularly adjusts their model which can lead to mistakes/misunderstandings/misinterpretations of the data its given. Your use of any content is entirely at your own risk and it is your sole responsibility to evaluate the accuracy, completeness and usefulness of the content.

• Asia Frontier Capital has the following fund updates:

  • 🗄️🌏 AFC Asia Frontier Fund’s August monthly newsletter (AFC Asia Frontier Fund and AFC Uzbekistan Fund Achieve a New All Time High NAV – August 2026 Update – detailed economic and portfolio) noted that despite the Middle East war, Kazakhstan and Pakistan received sovereign credit rating upgrades during the month. Named or unnamed performers/transactions (that can be guessed) discussed or mentioned:

    • 🇰🇿 KASPI (NASDAQ: KSPI / LON: 80TE / FRA: KKS) – Payments Platform, Marketplace Platform & Fintech Platform. 🇼

    • 📈🇵🇬 Gold explorer in Papua New Guinea

    • 📈🇻🇳 Jewellery retailer in Vietnam

    • 📈🇹🇱 Manganese explorer in Timor-Leste

    • 📈🇵🇬 Gold producer in Papua New Guinea

    • 📈🇰🇭 Gold producer in Cambodia

    • 🏧🇰🇭 Cambodian casino operator

  • 🗄️🇮🇶 AFC Iraq Fund’s August newsletter (economic and portfolio) discussed the recovery of southern/northern exports, the two-month lag between oil exports & the receipt of their revenues, the budget deficit being funded, etc.

  • 🗄️🇻🇳 AFC Vietnam Fund’s August newsletter discussed market developments, why Vietnam’s economy remains strong, Phu Tai Corporation (HOSE: PTB) (“When Fear and Fundamentals Diverge”), interest rates as the main headwind, Agriculture Bank Insurance JSC (HNX: ABI) (“When Higher Interest Rates Become a Tailwind”), one of the lowest valuations in the fund’s history, etc. Stocks discussed or mentioned:

  • 🗄️🇺🇿 AFC Uzbekistan Fund’s August newsletter discussed private sector IPOs on the horizon, the flawed index created by the Tashkent Stock Exchange (UCI), the maturing Tashkent International Financial Center (TIFC) and the upcoming 5^th AFC Uzbekistan Tour on Sunday, 20^th September and Monday, 21^st September 2026.

• 🎙️🌏 Ruchir Desai, Co-Fund Manager of the AFC Asia Frontier Fund Discusses with Megha Chaddah How Asian Frontier Markets are Performing Well Despite Geopolitical Tensions (RTHK Money Talk) 7:39 Minutes – Ruchir Desai, Fund Manager at Asia Frontier Capital joins us to talk about how performance of the Frontier Markets in the midst of major challenges and headwinds from geopolitcal tensions and war disputes.