Emerging markets equity funds saw a reversal of asset flows in the second half of 2002 with outflows totalling $1.51bn (€1.49bn), compared with $1.7bn of inflows in the first half of the year, according to EmergingPortfolio.com Fund Research, the US-based fund research firm.

According to EmergingPortfolio.com, a rising aversion to risk by global investors due to historic declines in the equity markets of the world's developed economies, mid-year performance reversal in larger emerging markets, high-profile corporate governance scandals and political uncertainties in the second half all contributed to a year in which many investors retreated from emerging markets funds.