# EM investors turn pickier on inflation-linked debt after big run 2026-08-16T16:18:52+00:00 | Business & Economy | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 1 independent outlet (2 source reports) Persistent inflation worries and currency swings are pushing emerging-market investors to adjust bets in an $886 billion inflation-linked bond market that has delivered outsize returns for more than a year, livemint.com reports. An index tracking such local-currency government debt has handed investors an 11.3% return in 2026 through Thursday, following its best year in over a decade. This compares with a 1.5% gain for a broader index of local debt and a 0.1% loss for the benchmark Bloomberg Global Aggregate Bond Index. After strong returns in Brazil and Mexico, the two largest markets, traders are turning to so-called linkers in Chile, Poland and Argentina. Benjamin Souza of BlackRock said investors need to be selective because not all inflation-linked bonds offer the same risk-reward profile. Thierry Larose of Vontobel is favoring linkers in Argentina but has switched away from them in Brazil, betting implied inflation expectations are turning excessive. Kieran Curtis of Aberdeen said linkers are expensive in most countries except Poland. The majority of these notes come from Latin America, where El Nino risks could push food and energy costs higher. Brazil and Mexico account for more than half of all index-eligible EM inflation-linked debt, a pile above $800 billion. Jeff Grills of Aegon Asset Management said he prefers fixed-coupon bonds in Brazil now that long rates are mid-double digits, but favours linkers in Chile and Colombia. The Turkish central bank on Thursday revised its year-end inflation projection to 28%, up from 26%, acknowledging a 'partial failure' to meet CPI targets. ## Coverage - livemint.com - livemint.com (2) This story was synthesised by AI from the 2 sources linked above. Updated: this story now draws on 2 sources. Last updated 2026-09-27T06:17:30+00:00. Tags: Argentina, BlackRock, Brazil, JPMorgan Chase, Mexico, Poland Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/em-inflation-linked-bonds-see-11-3-return-in-2026-investors-pickier/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/em-inflation-linked-bonds-see-11-3-return-in-2026-investors-pickier/#story-in-brief Review state: restored archive article, accurate at time of publication, not offered to search indexes. How this brief was made: an AI model read the reports linked above and wrote this summary and analysis, which were published automatically. Published briefs are sampled every hour by an automated quality check; the editor verifies its findings and approves corrections, and corrected briefs carry a dated correction line. Stance labels are editorial classifications of how each outlet framed this story, assigned by the same model, not ratings of the outlets. We do no original reporting. Methodology: https://indianopinion.org/ai-use-policy/