The idea of the BRIC economies — Brazil, Russia, India and China — as the investment darlings of the world is over, says Matthew Lynn, founder of Strategy Economics.

"BRICs for the last decade or so were a good story," he told CNBC. "There was a lot of stuff to back it up. ... But I think it's played out. If you look at the BRICs now, the growth's just not there."

In Brazil, a central bank survey of 100 economists last week showed they expect growth of only 2.2 percent this year, Bloomberg reported. In Russia, the economy grew 1.6 percent in the first quarter from a year earlier, sliding for the fifth quarter in a row.

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In India, growth was only 4.8 percent in the first quarter from year earlier. "You can argue whether it ever should have been in that list," Lynn said.

China's gross domestic product expanded 7.5 percent in the second quarter from a year earlier, down from 7.7 percent in the first quarter.

So what's going to replace the BRICs as a major market theme?

"Africa would certainly be one," as it houses 10 of the world's 20 fastest-growing economies, Lynn said.

But Mark Mobius, executive chairman of Templeton Emerging Markets Group, doesn't share Lynn's pessimism on BRICs.

"BRIC countries have been pretty down, very unfavorable, notably in terms of earnings, and there we find some opportunities," he told The Economic Times.

"We think there will be a bounce back, because there has been too much negativity, and that has pushed the prices down to levels where there is a chance of an upsurge again."

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