How much does having more assets to play with aid outperformance in the developing world? Here we chart four of the major sectors and compare the scale of those outperforming against the blockbuster strategies operating in their universe.

‍

The graph above highlights the top performer versus the largest funds in the GEM Equity, EM Hard Currency, EM Local Currency and EM Corporate Debt sectors.

In GEM Equity, the iShares Emerging Markets Index fund dwarfs the Artisan Developing World fund in terms of assets but has only achieved one-quarter of the same performance on a three-year total return basis.

Similarly, the largest EM Hard Currency fund in operation is the Neuberger Berman Short Duration EM Debt strategy, which has $6.7bn (€6.1bn) in assets. The Carmignac Pf EM Debt fund only has $159.4m but has delivered four times the return over the same period.

In EM Local Currency Debt, the best-performing fund is the Eaton Vance International (IRL) EM Local strategy, which returned 14.5% with $405m in assets. The DPAM L Bonds Emerging Markets Sustainable Bond fund has $3.2bn in assets but returned 3.00%.

In the EM Corporate Debt sector, the GS EM Corporate Bond Base fund, which is run by Angus Bell, has returned 14.8% with $4.14bn in assets. Meanwhile, the EG Emerging Markets Corporate HY fund returned 29.6% over the same period, with just $241.4m in assets.