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
Emerging Market (EM) stocks rose in August 2026. Memory stocks regained their footing and recovered from July’s technology sell-off. However, sentiment was periodically challenged by elevated US treasury yields, renewed tensions within the Middle East and continued debate over the sustainability of artificial intelligence (AI)-related investments. For the month, the MSCI Emerging Markets Index returned 2.60%. The MSCI World Index delivered 1.82%, both in net UK-sterling terms.1
The emerging Asia region recovered and gained. However, performance was uneven. Technology stocks in both South Korea and Taiwan recovered following last month’s sharp correction. Chinese equities pulled back, with large-capitalisation internet platforms pressured by concerns over the scale and returns of AI investments. Indian equities fell as well, weighed in part by higher crude oil prices. Leadership and governance uncertainty at a major Indian conglomerate also weighed on several group companies.
Equities in the emerging Europe, Middle East and Africa region rose, despite continued geopolitical uncertainty and volatility in energy prices. South African equities lifted regional returns, helped by gains in gold and platinum miners as prices of precious metals strengthened.
Equities in the emerging Latin America (LatAm) region fell. The weakness was partially driven by Brazilian equities. A leading Brazilian retailer filed for bankruptcy protection, adding to concerns around banking-sector credit quality given exposures among several lenders. The month also saw foreign outflows in Brazil following a period of early-year gains and pre-election jitters. In Mexico, rising global metal prices supported the share prices of major mining companies.
Portfolio Changes & Positioning
During the period, we increased our position in Dr Reddy’s Laboratories, an India-based pharmaceutical company that manufactures and markets a wide range of products in India and abroad. Following a share price correction in July, we find the risk-reward ratio attractive at current valuations. At the company level, Dr Reddy’s is increasing its focus on higher-value areas, including complex generics and biosimilars. Its strong balance sheet and net cash position also provide financial flexibility.
Overall, we increased investments in the financials and communication services sectors. In terms of countries, we undertook purchases in China/Hong Kong and Brazil.
We trimmed our position in MediaTek, a Taiwan-based semiconductor company evolving into a more diversified compute-chip provider. Following strong year-to-date share-price performance, we reduced our exposure slightly to manage its active weight in the portfolio.
By sector, we reduced our exposure to information technology, utilities and industrials. Geographically, we made the biggest sales in South Korea, Taiwan and Hungary.
Positive Contributors
TEMIT’s net asset value returned 2.87% over the month, compared to the MSCI EM Index-NR’s result of 2.60%, both in UK-sterling terms.
Lite-On Tech is a provider of optoelectronic semiconductor components and power management modules. The company released its second-quarter results in late July, which were quite strong. Wuxi Biologics is a Chinese contract development and manufacturing organisation. Its share price rose due to a results beat for the first half of 2026. South Korean holding company LG Corp rounded out the top three relative contributors. LG Corp owns stakes in several companies across various industries such as electronics, chemicals, EV (electric vehicle) batteries and household products.
Detractors
The largest detractor was BYD, a leading electric vehicle (EV) and battery manufacturer in China. Its share price traded downwards after rising in the previous month of July. Concerns on the European Union’s plug-in hybrid EV tariff risk weighed on the share price. BYD also released its second-quarter results, which were in-line with expectations and signalled that earnings might have reached a trough. We remain positive on the company’s growing international presence and product innovation, including its newly launched flash-charging technology. These factors, together with a potential stabilisation in domestic demand, could support its longer-term financial performance.
Additionally, the share prices of Itau Unibanco (a Brazilian bank providing a broad range of services such as cards, loans and insurance) and Prosus (a leading global investment company) fell and pressured the portfolio.
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Outlook
Looking ahead, we expect returns to remain differentiated across sectors. We continue to see opportunities in information technology, supported by investment in AI infrastructure. EM companies, particularly in Asia, play an important role in the global semiconductor and AI supply chain, and have benefited from this investment cycle. We continue to monitor the pace of AI spending and the sustainability of earnings growth across AI-related companies. Leading memory players also announced new improved shareholder return policies during the month.
Beyond AI, we continue to see opportunities across other structural themes, including industrial upgrading, electrification and financial deepening. These include companies benefiting from investment in power and infrastructure, as well as well-capitalised banks operating in under-penetrated financial systems.
Overall, EMs offer a range of opportunities. Investors can gain exposure to long-term growth trends, reasonable valuations and earnings potential.