EM Fund Stock Picks & Country Commentaries (February 15 2026)

As noted in the past and besides investing in Europe and AI, it seems many fund research pieces are pushing private equity and private credit type investments. And yet there are literally 10,000s of companies with common/preferred stock or bonds to invest in outside of the USA/Western Europe (and their businesses don’t all involve technology or AI)…

However and in a couple of posts last year (August 3 & March 23), I discussed anti-private equity activist Tiffany Cianci claiming that Harvard and Yale were trying to quietly unload their private equity investments (that they have already strip mined, but nobody wants to touch any of it). They were apparently pitching a continuation fund for the general public that promises “1,000% returns that will make your brain melt” because, in the words of Cianci, “wealthy people always give us access to their investments that give them 1,000% returns…”

I also did a post that mentioned Yieldstreet (who’s tagline is “Invest like the 1%…” because the 1% are going to let you have access to their investments via an app…) who’s problems were starting to mount (When ‘invest like the 1%’ fails: How Yieldstreet’s real estate bets left customers with massive losses (CNBC) August 2025 🗃️) plus our April 20th post mentioned The end of globalisation (Apollo Asia Fund: the manager’s report for 1Q25) which noted predictions of “looming crises in private equity and debt are relevant to American universities, already in some financial difficulty” plus “some Asian pension funds have also been marketing targets for US private equity firms – and major market dislocations usually expose weaknesses in unexpected places.”

In this 3 hour talk from last December which also includes a more recent update, Tiffany Cianci and the Solari Report’s Catherine Austin Fitts in the alternative finance/media space discussed private equity (and the problems with it) in detail:

🎥 Private Equity: See the Game, Change the Game – Full Interview (The Solari Report | Catherine Austin Fitts) 3:04:30 Minutes (February 2026)

• In November 2024, entrepreneur and former franchisee Tiffany Cianci was a Solari Hero of the Week for her valiant pushback against private equity lawfare that has cost her and her family dearly. Since a private equity firm terminated her children’s gym franchise in 2022, Cianci has become a public speaker and small business advocate helping policymakers and citizens understand private equity’s “systematic strip-mining of the American middle class.”

• In Solari’s first interview of 2026, Cianci joins me to draw back the curtain on the wider private equity “game,” with the aim of improving our subscribers’ ability to navigate products, services, and business and investment relationships in an increasingly fraught-with-risk environment.

• We start by discussing the growth of private equity (including the public policies that have encouraged its explosion), the largest players, the role of endowments like Harvard and Yale, private equity’s extraction business model and tactics, and shenanigans related to how private equity returns are calculated and reported. We also take a look at the wide range of sectors affected by private equity’s incursions—including health care, nursing homes, autism services, veterinary services, insurance, sports, retail, and media—and bring the situation up to date with a look at actions taken by the Trump administration, such as giving the private equity industry access to our 401(k) retirement funds.

• The private equity invasion may be widespread, but, as Cianci and I conclude, there is still much we can do—as employees, parents, alumni, investors, pension fund beneficiaries, and voters—to demand accountability and push back against destructive and even criminal business models. Step one is to protect your time, health, finances, and savings from businesses that extract from you and yours rather than add the value that supports a free and inspired life.

• As a reminder, be sure (if you have not already done so) to read our Plunder report, which provides additional details that will help you recognize and navigate the havoc created when too many investment interests use our pension funds and taxpayer resources to build billionaires instead of building wealth.

• Full Report: Private Equity: See the Game, Change the Game (Solari Report)

To paraphrase their private equity discussion and update:

• Under accounting or other rules, private equity investments don’t necessarily need to be mark to market for 10 years. In other words and as opposed to stock investments, they can be kept on a pension fund/endowment’s, etc. books at an acquired or an (inflated) estimated value for the period of time – something fund managers obviously love (as they collect their bonuses and can be long gone by the time they need to be properly valued).

• However, we are starting to hit the 10 year mark for many private equity investments which already has institutions like Harvard/Yale/Calpers etc. starting to panic or face liquidity problems as their PE investments turn out to be worth less than what they are valued on the books. Their options are:

  • Mark to market or to whatever the actual value is and risk exposing huge losses – especially if the PE managers have been asset stripping the portfolio companies and not reinvesting in the businesses.

  • Trade (sell) the investments among themselves for the value on the books in order to reset the 10 year clocks (and kick the can down the road another 10 years…).

  • Move the investments into a new fund to reset the clocks. This has already triggered lawsuits from existing investors.

  • Find new suckers buyers to unload them on – including family offices, investors in Asia, pensions, retail investors, 401(k), etc. Unfortunately, the Trump Administration appears to be making this much easier by planning to or further changing or easing the rules on who can hold such investments.

Again, I am paraphrasing…

Fitts also told a story of someone she knew who was an employee of a company who kept coming up with new ideas to improve the company’s product or service. Every idea was rejected and he could not understand why. So Fitts checked who owned his employer and it was private equity – meaning he did not really work for a company/employer/brand, etc. He was actually working for a “transaction” and all that mattered was maximizing the value of the future transaction – not reinvesting into the business…

On the AI front, we have a peak AI bubble story coming out of Malaysia:

However, there are some questions as to when he actually acquired the domain given how difficult it would have been for a Malaysian boy to buy urls in 1993 (even ones that are his initials): IT Experts Cast Doubt On Malaysian’s Claim Of Buying AI Dot Com Domain In 1993.

I also saw this in one of my feeds and it should not surprise anyone:

Finally, these are some good AI analogies or comments:

Acclaimed Journalist@Jonathan_Witt

The hype around AI is fascinating.

The belief of the hype is even moreso.

Nobody you know has lost their job and been rendered redundant, but you definitely believe this is happening just out of your circle.

It’s like the “covid is killing everyone” hysteria all over again.

7:12 PM · Feb 10, 2026 · 1.21K Views

5 Replies · 1 Repost · 15 Likes

Acclaimed Journalist@Jonathan_Witt

@FinanceGhost Know many. None have lost their jobs. One recently got headhunted and given a bigger salary in the corporate design space, and another is making more money now than ever in their career. Both use AI…as a tool.

9:05 PM · Feb 10, 2026 · 87 Views

Cernovich@Cernovich

The only messaging people are receiving from AI companies is that you will lose your job and a few big tech companies (who funded the far left) will become impossibly wealthier. One of the biggest messaging failures of my lifetime.

sourcery @sourceryy

Robinhood CEO @vladtenev says AI lacks public support because everyday investors are shut out of the upside, and can’t invest in any of the significant AI companies:

“Aside from Google— OpenAI, Anthropic, all the startups, they’re basically out of reach for normal people.” https://t.co/vTfe3OxlzI

8:34 PM · Feb 13, 2026 · 247K Views

92 Replies · 180 Reposts · 1.52K Likes

sourcery@sourceryy

Robinhood CEO @vladtenev says AI lacks public support because everyday investors are shut out of the upside, and can’t invest in any of the significant AI companies:

“Aside from Google— OpenAI, Anthropic, all the startups, they’re basically out of reach for normal people.”

litquidity @litcapital

Kinda insane how there are headlines weekly of OpenAI being valued at $800 billion, Anthropic at $380 billion, SpaceX at $1.25 trillion and 99.999% of investors are unable to participate in the upside of the most iconic, generational businesses of our time

8:21 PM · Feb 13, 2026 · 135K Views

27 Replies · 16 Reposts · 156 Likes

Akhilesh Mishra@livingdevops

I keep hearing this hype about AI taking over everything, and honestly I don’t get the endgame( I Don’t believe Elon musk universal high income statement )

Let’s say AI wins, all jobs are gone, and a few big tech companies own everything. Cool.

But then what?
In India, people

11:15 AM · Feb 9, 2026 · 117K Views

246 Replies · 48 Reposts · 467 Likes

As of the mid-February, some January fund updates are available (our continuously updated post containing all funds is here) along with new research starting with some non-EM pieces pushing Europe or private credit:

• 🔬🇪🇺 European real estate market outlook Q1 2026 (Aberdeen Investments) – We discuss what lies ahead for European real estate. Read more here. Key highlights

  • European real estate performance has improved, and there are more signs of life after a steady end to 2025.

  • Economic growth is proving resilient and should modestly accelerate in 2026. Domestic strength is offsetting a more challenging external political environment.

  • We forecast a gradual recovery, led by industrials and residential, but core offices and retail parks now offer strong opportunities for investors.

• 🔬🌐 Private Credit: an old market, newly misunderstood (Aberdeen Investments) – What if private credit isn’t the risk story you’ve been told? Explore the overlooked parts of the market that may offer investors stability, protection and compelling income in 2026.

• 🔬🇪🇺 European defense stocks: The magnitude of Europe’s rearmament remains underappreciated (Janus Henderson Investors) – Heightened geopolitical tensions have refocused attention on increasing military spending globally. Despite a strong start to 2026, markets continue to underestimate the scale and durability of Europe’s defense spending cycle, say Portfolio Managers Christopher O’Malley and Julian McManus.

• 🔬🌏 Asia-Pacific real estate market outlook Q1 2026 (Aberdeen Investments) – What’s next for real estate in APAC? We discuss our views. Key Highlights

  • US tariffs and China’s property correction shape divergent policies.

  • The ‘leveraged beta’ trade is likely over, and real estate investment strategies must pivot.

  • Japanese multifamily remains resilient, despite higher interest rates.

• Asia Frontier Capital has the following fund updates:

  • 🗄️🌏 AFC Asia Frontier Fund’s January monthly newsletter (detailed economic and portfolio – Asia Frontier Fund and AFC Uzbekistan Fund Start the Year on a Very Strong Note – January 2026 Update) noted Gains were led by Uzbekistan, Vietnam, Kazakhstan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Pakistan. Positive catalysts on the horizon in Bangladesh, cyclone reconstruction in Sri Lanka and Vietnam were discussed. Named or unnamed performers/transactions (that can be guessed) discussed or mentioned:

    • 📈🏧🇰🇿 Kazakh uranium miner

    • 📈🇱🇦 Power producer in Laos

    • 📈🇵🇬 Gold explorer in Papua New Guinea

    • 📈🇻🇳 Jewellery retailer in Vietnam (probably 🇻🇳 Phu Nhuan Jewelry JSC (HOSE: PNJ) – Retail jewellery chain owner.)

    • 📈🇻🇳 Vietnamese bank

    • 🏧🇧🇩 Consumer appliance manufacturer in Bangladesh

    • 🏧🇧🇩 Bangladeshi bank

    • 🏧🇵🇰 Consumer healthcare company in Pakistan

    • 🏧🇱🇰 Construction company in Sri Lanka

    • 🏧🌏 Mobile phone operator with businesses in multiple Asian frontier countries

  • 🗄️🇮🇶 AFC Iraq Fund’s January newsletter (economic and portfolio) noted and discussed in detail how the year began with three significant developments, two of which were marked by conflict that ordinarily would have been expected to negatively impact the equity market. The final development was the government’s implementation, at the start of the year of customs tariffs for increasing non-oil revenues made possible following the automation and digitisation of tariff collection processes over the prior months.

  • 🗄️🇺🇿 AFC Uzbekistan Fund’s January newsletter noted that legislation and infrastructure rails are largely already in place to enable a functioning IPO market but its still the early days in the nascent capital markets of Uzbekistan.

  • 🗄️🇻🇳 AFC Vietnam Fund’s January newsletter discussed or gave market developments, Resolution 79 to improve state-owned enterprises’ performance, Vietnam’s outstanding economic performance in 2025, Mr. To Lam re-elected as General Secretary (political stability and growth Continuity) and the Vietnam–EU partnership marks a strategic turning point. Stocks discussed or mentioned:

    • 📈🇻🇳🏛️ Petrovietnam Gas JSC (HOSE: GAS) – Oil & gas exploration, production, storage, processing, transportation, distribution & services. 🇼

    • 📈🇻🇳🏛️ Vietnam National Petroleum Group (Petrolimex) (HOSE: PLX) – Oil & gas (incl. gas stations) + insurance, transport & trading. 🇼

    • 📈🇻🇳 Vietcom Bank (HOSE: VCB) or Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Foreign Trade of Vietnam – Private Hanoi based commercial bank. 🇼

    • 📈🇻🇳🏛️ Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam (BIDV) (HOSE: BID) – Banking, insurance, securities & financial investment. 🇼

    • 📈🇻🇳🏛️ Vietnam JSCmmercial Bank for Industry and Trade (Vietinbank) (HOSE: CTG) – Commercial bank. 🇼

    • 📈🇻🇳🏛️ Vietnam Rubber Group JSC (HOSE: GVR) – Vertically integrated rubber + logistics, real estate, etc.

    • 📈🇻🇳🏛️ Bao Viet Holdings (HOSE: BVH) – Insurance. 🇼

    • 📈🇻🇳 Tng Investment And Trading JSC (HNX: TNG) – Garment maker.

    • 📈🇻🇳 Phu Tai Corporation (HOSE: PTB) – Manufacture & trade of stone & wood products.

    • 📈🇻🇳 Minh Phu Seafood Corp (HNX: MPC) – Shrimp farming & processing.

    • 📈🇻🇳 Lam Dong Mineral and Building Material JSC (HOSE: LBM) – Precasted concrete, tuynel brick, construction stone, refractory material, kaolin & Bentonite.