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Meet the Team

TEMIT is managed by an experienced investment team comprising of the following members:

Chetan Sehgal, CFA

Senior Managing Director, Director of Portfolio Management

Andrew Ness

Portfolio Manager, Franklin Templeton Emerging Markets Equity

Overview

Global equities advanced further in October, buoyed by a second US Federal Reserve (Fed) rate cut this year and easing US-China trade tensions late in the month. For the month, the MSCI Emerging Markets Index returned 6.75% while the MSCI World Index rose by 4.52%, both in net UK-sterling terms.1

Stocks in the emerging Asia region collectively rose.2 Indian equities continued to recover as the central bank kept its key repurchase rate—the interest rate at which a central bank lends to commercial banks—unchanged and revised its economic growth forecasts upwards on the back of falling inflation. Banking stocks were boosted by strong quarterly business updates from index heavyweights. Record sales during the Diwali holiday period also acted as a tailwind for the general Indian equity market. South Korea’s two largest chip firms, Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, rose on strong quarterly results and positive outlook.

Chinese equities pulled back over the month. A resurgence of US-China tensions featured at the start of the month but calmed down upon a meeting of both countries’ leaders. This culminated in a one-year trade truce. China’s Fourth Plenum, which reiterated the country’s commitment to self-reliance in science and technology, lent some support to Chinese technology stocks.

Equities in the emerging Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region collectively advanced.3 Most central banks in the Gulf Cooperation Council reduced their key interest rates, tracking the decision by the Fed. Healthy corporate earnings locally also added a boost to the advancement of the region as a whole.

Equities in the emerging Latin America (LatAm) region rose.4 Brazilian equities rallied as the US Senate passed a bill to terminate US tariffs against Brazil. In Mexico, preliminary data showed a contraction in its third-quarter economic growth from the previous quarter, marking the country’s first year-on-year quarterly decline since 2021.

Portfolio Changes & Positioning

During the month, we continued to add on to our existing holdings of BYD, a leading electric vehicle and battery manufacturer in China, as we see strong potential in its vehicles and batteries in both the domestic and export markets.

Overall, we increased investments in the consumer discretionary, industrials and materials sectors. In terms of countries, we undertook purchases in China/Hong Kong, the Philippines and Brazil.

We continued to trim our position in SK Hynix, a South Korean semiconductor company and a maker of memory chips, on the back of a share price advancement. SK Hynix, however, still remains a key portfolio holding as it retains a leadership position in the high-bandwidth memory market.

By sector, we reduced our exposure to information technology, communication services and health care. Geographically, we made the biggest sales in South Korea, Taiwan and Thailand.

Positive Contributors

TEMIT’s net asset value returned 9.57% over the month, compared to the MSCI EM Index-NR’s result of 6.75%, both in UK-sterling terms.

In South Korea, SK Hynix and automobile company Hyundai Motor were relative contributors. The former rose after the company reported a record quarterly profit for the third quarter of 2025 and guided that their memory chip lineup for 2026 had sold out. Hyundai Motor’s share price rose on the Korea-US tariff negotiations, which reduced 25% tariffs on Korean automobiles and parts to 15%, and a partnership to accelerate innovation in autonomous vehicles. The world's largest semiconductor foundry company, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, was also a relative contributor.

Detractors

Prosus is a leading global investment company and the largest shareholder of Tencent Holdings, a Chinese technology company. The company also has ownership in multiple food delivery platforms. Its share price fell alongside Tencent’s as it fell alongside the greater Chinese equity market. Other sources of stock-level weakness came from Grupo Financiero Banorte, a leading financial institution in Mexico and Techtronic Industries, a leading power tools and outdoor power equipment manufacturer based in Hong Kong.

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Outlook

EMs have seen a stabilisation in their prospects. More trade deals are emerging, and countries are adopting either one or a combination of fiscal and monetary policies to buffer any negative impact of external uncertainties. Investor sentiment is also improving, driven by lower US interest-rate expectations and political shifts towards more market-friendly policies. At the company level, we are also seeing earnings in certain pockets being revised upwards.

The artificial intelligence growth story continues to remain strong. While there were some concerns on earnings being revised downwards, especially on the memory side, that concern is incrementally receding. In our view, we think that memory companies will also experience a good year in 2026.

Growing confidence in China’s technology companies’ ability to innovate, with additional catalysts from China’s self-sufficiency drive in technology, remain key pillars of support. India’s recent simplification in the goods and services tax, resulting in a tax cut, provides a tailwind to domestic consumption. We remain cognisant of valuations; they have been corrected and we have, in turn, added selectively.

Underpinning our optimism is our well-rounded perspective. We remain cognisant of the key risks in our investment universe. We continue to keep a close watch on geopolitical tensions and government policies. We combine our bottom-up focus with these structural trends to identify opportunities in this sea of overlooked and under-researched companies.