Will Goldman Sachs' MIST replace the BRIC?

When Goldman Sachs coined the term BRICs (Brazil, Russia, India, China) almost a decade back, the entire world sat up and took notice. The idea was that these 4 emerging nations would grow at a stupendous rate in the coming years and by 2050 probably match the GDP of some countries in the developed world. The BRIC countries have certainly displayed impressive growth over the last many years. Even when the crisis struck, these countries were able to bounce back at a rapid rate. But now many problems are beginning to crawl out of the woodwork. Slowing growth, high inflation, formation of asset bubbles are some of the concerns that have emerged from those regions. Thus, even though the US and Europe continue to languish in the dumps, these 4 emerging markets are not offering strong returns to investors either. And so Goldman has come out with another fund called N-11 and has coined the term MIST for the four biggest markets of these. These so called MIST nations comprise of Mexico, Indonesia, South Korea and Turkey. The fund has generated 12% in the year so far. The BRIC fund in contrast has gained only 1.5%. That said, whether these MIST nations are just another fad or really have the potential to generate healthy returns in the years ahead remains to be seen.