These five shocks could thwart two-year emerging-market rally

Plenty of things could upend the two-year rally in emerging-market equities. Yet no one seems to agree on just what they are.

Of course, the bulls abound. Fiera Capital Corp., the Montreal money manager that oversees $123 billion, expects attractive returns for several more years. Research Affiliates, a sub-adviser to such firms as Pacific Investment Management Co., calls emerging markets the "trade of a decade."

Yet contrarians are sounding the alarm. Here are five potential causes for concern:

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To UBS’s Bhanu Baweja, normal warning signs such as an inflection in the growth cycle, expensive valuations or declining oil