BRICs no longer “emerging”

In addition to his skill for picking good countries to invest in, Jim O’Neill also seems to really like giving them names. The chairman of Goldman Sachs asset management, O’Neill coined the acronym BRIC nine years ago to refer to emerging powerhouses Brazil, Russia, India and China.

Now, these countries should no longer be called “emerging economies,” he says in a recent article. The piece—which was published in February but is only getting picked up in Brazil now—encourages Goldman colleagues to use the term “growth markets.”

Here’s how he defines a growth economy: “any economy outside the so-called developed world that accounts for at least 1% of current global GDP should be defined as a growth economy.” As for the rest, it’s apparently still okay to call these “emerging.”

And O’Neill’s BRICs are getting some new friends under the new designation. Growth economies now also include South Korea, Indonesia, Mexico, and Turkey, he said.

Emerging means risky, growth means less-risky and fast growing. Keep it straight.