The EGA EM Investor Survey score rose 9 per cent from 495 in the fourth quarter of 2015 to 538 in the first quarter of 2016. The survey is produced by New York-headquartered .

The share of respondents who expect to raise their emerging market equity allocations increased by a third from last quarter. 

Most respondents currently have either 5-10 per cent (37 per cent) or 1-5 per cent (36 per cent) allocation in emerging markets and 48 per cent of respondents say their current allocation is about the same as 12 months ago, while 37 per cent say it is lower. 

A stance of “neutral” was the most common answer (42 per cent) for respondents’ outlook for emerging market equities over the next 12 months, followed by “positive” (33 per cent).

Some 51 per cent expect to stay the course with their EM equity allocation in the next 12 months, while 44 per cent expect to increase their allocation.

“Less than a third of respondents are confident that their EM allocation reflects the regions and themes with the greatest investment opportunities in EM in the next 12 months,” said Marc Zeitoun, chief product and marketing officer at Emerging Global Advisors. 

“This survey confirms what our clients have been telling us – increasingly, they are looking to recalibrate their emerging market allocation and want help aligning their portfolios with the areas of growth,” he added.

A total of 91 asset managers and financial advisors, with over 60 per cent managing more than $500 million in assets, participated in the digital survey between 1 March and 1 April. 

Between the start of January and end of March, the MSCI Emerging Markets Index rose 5.69 per cent. That index fell last year in what was a broadly poor year for emerging markets.