Don´t bet on an economic rebound in emerging markets in 2016, Citi says

Going against the prevailing view in financial markets can be a very smart move for investors at the big turning points in the economic cycle, Citi´s global equity strategy team said on Friday.

However, the rest of the time it can be a costly mistake, as the strategy will underperform the wider market, they said.

So, even after incurring in big losses in 2014 and 2013, so-called 'contrarian' investors will again try to call the turn-around in commodity markets.

They will also again be bearish on US technology, health care and consumer stocks.

To take note of, Citi points out that three consecutive years of underperformance have never happened before.

Die-hard contrarians will probably even go as far as expecting a rebound across emerging market economies in 2016, but that call, Citi said, "looked premature".