Now is not the best time to buy Russia

Russia is on the verge of a full-on emerging-market crisis. Cris Sholto Heaton looks at similar past crises, and asks when should investors buy in.

As Russia's sell-off deepens, many investors are wondering whether it's time to buy into the market in the expectation of a quick profit when it recovers. Russian stocks already looked cheap, so by now they must be an absolute bargain. But if that's what you're thinking, make sure you understand the risks.

Russia is on the edge of a full-on emerging market crisis. And if that happens, valuation really doesn't matter. Instead, it's all about macroeconomics, politics and psychology and potentially a long wait for things to turn around.

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Crash-84%-62%-93%1.5 years
Rally233%93%630%1.2 years
Sell-off-55%-44%-76%1.8 years
Cris Sholto Heaton

Cris Sholto Heaton is an investment analyst and writer who has been contributing to MoneyWeek since 2006 and was managing editor of the magazine between 2016 and 2018. He is especially interested in international investing, believing many investors still focus too much on their home markets and that it pays to take advantage of all the opportunities the world offers. He often writes about Asian equities, international income and global asset allocation.

Cris began his career in financial services consultancy at PwC and Lane Clark & Peacock, before an abrupt change of direction into oil, gas and energy at Petroleum Economist and Platts and subsequently into investment research and writing. In addition to his articles for MoneyWeek, he also works with a number of asset managers, consultancies and financial information providers.

He holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation and the Investment Management Certificate, as well as degrees in finance and mathematics. He has also studied acting, film-making and photography, and strongly suspects that an awareness of what makes a compelling story is just as important for understanding markets as any amount of qualifications.