EM Fund Stock Picks & Country Commentaries (January 4, 2026)

We have covered reasons to be leery of private equity off and on but now even the corporate business press is catching on:

📰 Private equity firms sell assets to themselves at a record rate (FT) January 2026 🗃️

So-called continuation vehicles set to account for a fifth of sales by the sector in 2025

ZeroHedge, as always, did not mince words:

💻 FT Exposes The Literal Definition Of Ponzi-Scheming In Private Equity (ZeroHedge) January 2026 🗃️

In what can only be described as the financial industry’s most brazen act of self-dealing since the last crisis, private equity giants are now openly selling assets to themselves at record pace, propping up their crumbling empire with a tactic that reeks of pure Ponzi desperation.

According to the Financial Times, roughly one-fifth of all private equity exits this year involved firms raising fresh cash from new ~~suckers~~ investors to buy portfolio companies from their own aging funds.

That’s a sharp jump from the 12-13% seen in prior years, with Raymond James’ Sunaina Sinha Haldea predicting a staggering $107 billion in these incestuous transactions for 2025, blowing past last year’s $70 billion.

These so-called “continuation vehicles” let PE barons hand money back to restless limited partners in older funds while keeping control of the assets – and, crucially, resetting the clock on lucrative management fees and carried interest.

It’s the ultimate have-your-cake-and-eat-it-too scam: cash out the old money, lock in the new money, and keep milking the same cow indefinitely.

And:

But beneath the sanitized industry spin lie the glaring conflicts: the same PE firm sits on both sides of the trade, deciding the price at which assets move from one of its pockets to another.

Pension funds and other LPs are rightly furious, fearing managers low-ball valuations to screw departing investors while setting themselves up for fat future carry on the “new” fund.

The Abu Dhabi Investment Council just sued U.S. firm Energy & Minerals Group over exactly this alleged grift: EMG tried to undervalue gas driller Ascent Resources in a self-sale that would have boosted its ownership and restarted fee collection.

The deal collapsed amid the lawsuit, and now outside bidders are circling.

In addition:

The US private equity market is frozen:

Private equity firms have sold 321 companies year-to-date, putting the market on track for its weakest year since 2009.

This is despite the number of companies held in private equity portfolios standing at a record 12,899.

By comparison,… pic.twitter.com/5xPrCiS6nG
— The Kobeissi Letter (@KobeissiLetter) December 31, 2025

This was a very lengthy tweet from SightBringer that’s also worth reading:

⚡️Private equity is frozen because the system cannot agree on reality.

And when price agreement disappears, capitalism stops allocating capital and starts preserving appearances.

1. What is actually happening

PE firms bought assets assuming:
• zero rates
• endless… https://t.co/jwdpYPIARj
— SightBringer (@_The_Prophet__) December 31, 2025

As of the start of January and the new year, a few more November or Q3 fund updates have become available (our continuously updated post containing all funds is here with October fund research removed) plus some new research or recent podcasts worth noting:

New Asia Fund Documents & Research

🎙️🌏 Asia Centric: Goldman Tips Asia To Outpace The US Again In 2026 (Bloomberg Asia Centric) 35:24 Minutes – Geopolitical risk is often seen as a market threat, yet the rivalry between Washington and Beijing is driving a wave of investment opportunities. The US push for re-industrialization is boosting demand for Asian exports in sectors such as shipbuilding, power generation and semiconductors while China’s investment in “new productive forces” accelerates its high-end manufacturing upgrade. Timothy Moe, chief Asia-Pacific equity strategist at Goldman Sachs, joins John Lee on the Asia Centric podcast. Moe explains why technology will remain a dominant theme in 2026 and why the firm is overweight Asia ex-Japan, forecasting the region will outperform the US and Europe. He also details why South Korea remains his top pick, citing 35% projected earnings growth and reasonable valuations, and outlines the rationale for his recent upgrade of India. This will also be our last episode for 2025 and we will re-commence on January 8 with a new line up of exciting speakers.
🎥🌏 Citywire Big Broadcast: Why trusting the process matters (Citywire) 38:58 Minutes – Nitin Bajaj and Ajinkya Dhavale co-portfolio managers of Fidelity Asian Values Plc (LON: FAS) spoke to Citywire’s Ian Horne about what makes their trust tick – touching on positioning, process and current portfolio ideas. As well as this, they lift the lid on where Asian small caps currently sit in their investment thinking.
⏰🎬🌏 Morningstar’s Q1 2026 Asia Investment Outlook – Finding Value in the New Year (Morningstar) 60 Minutes
- Thursday, 8 Jan., 4.30p.m. SGT / 5.30p.m. JST
  - The same concerns that pressured markets last year are still true today, leaving investors wondering what 2026 may have in store.
  - Join Morningstar’s Q1 Asia Market Outlook webinar to discover how our research can help you navigate whatever this year brings. Our panel of Morningstar analysts and strategists will dive into key investment themes across markets to help you better position your portfolio for success in the midst of uncertainty. Key topics include:
    - Stock trends and valuations across sectors
    - Examination of trends like AI on investment strategies
    - Analysis of attractive investment opportunities in the market

New Asia Fund Documents & Research

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