Goldman Sachs shuns 'naked long' bets in EMs as growth seen sputtering

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. says sputtering global growth means it’s too late to go “naked long” emerging markets, instead bet on short-term carry trades and assets in nations that can afford fiscal stimulus.

“We are getting late cycle and it is very hard for emerging markets to outperform in this scenario,” Caesar Maasry, a New York-based emerging-market strategist at the firm, told journalists in Sao Paulo.

Maasry recommends relative value: Buy the Brazilian real by shorting the Australian dollar, for example, or fund a long position in the Mexican peso with euros and bet on the South African rand by shorting the