Stocks in the biggest developing markets lagged behind global equities for a record third year as faster economic growth proves no lure for investors amid concerns over government interference in markets.

The MSCI BRIC Index of shares in Brazil, Russia, India and China rose 11 percent this year through Dec. 28, trailing the MSCI All-Country World Index by 1.6 percentage points. The trend will probably persist in 2013, according to John-Paul Smith, a Deutsche Bank AG strategist. Mutual funds that invest in BRIC nations have posted $1.65 billion of outflows as Brazilian politicians intervened to cut utility rates, China maintained control of its biggest companies and Russian businesses spent shareholder money on projects favored by the government.

"This whole revolution of going from a socialistic mentality to a market economy mentality is not complete," Mark Mobius, who oversees about $40 billion as the executive chairman of Templeton Emerging Markets Group and has invested in developing countries for more than 25 years, said in a Dec. 12 phone interview from Nairobi. "We're still in the middle of that and have a long way to go."