The investing world loves an acronym. So much so that I occasionally have out-of-body experiences during conversations awash with references to ETFs, ESG, FDI, NAV and so on, and wonder if, somewhere along the line, I accidentally joined the world’s dullest secret society.
While there are hundreds of acronyms pertaining to financial metrics, for example, EPS or ROI, investment vehicles such as EITs and CLOs, as well as regulatory bodies or central banks such as the FCA and BOE, the more interesting ones capture a moment in time or an emerging theme. In 2001, Jim O’Neill, while chief economist at Goldman Sachs, coined the term the Bric economies, arguing that Brazil, Russia, India and China would become increasingly important global growth drivers.
Over the last couple of years, you’d hear plenty of talk in the City about a transition from a Tina investing environment, where There…