AI, Junk Rallies, and Policy: Why Emerging Markets are Surging w/ Pooja Malik

The global investment landscape has shifted dramatically since 2024. In this episode, Pooja Malik, CFA - Founding Partner and CIO at Nipun Capital - returns to Financial Perspectives to discuss the surprising trends of 2025 and 2026 in Emerging Markets, including the "junk rally" in AI-linked stocks and the impact of US tariffs on local policy.

With over 20 years of experience managing $100B+ portfolios at firms like BlackRock, Pooja provides a masterclass on alpha extraction in modern Asian markets. In this follow-up to her 2024 appearance, Pooja discusses how the AI theme has moved beyond the "obvious winners" to impact the entire power supply chain. She also shares her quantitative perspective on why the volatility of Indian and Chinese equities is trending downward, creating a new paradigm for global allocators.

In this episode, we cover:

• The AI Bubble in Asia: Why retail investors are buying anything remotely linked to power and data centers.
• Risk Reversal: Why US debt and political uncertainty are shifting risk perceptions toward developed markets.
• Sovereign Powerhouses: A look at the distinct economic visions of India, China, and Saudi Arabia.
• The Benchmarking Gap: Why EM drives 60% of global GDP but only 10% of equity benchmarks.