Investors who look overseas for growth investments might want to take a look at Malaysia, Phillipines and Thailand exchange traded funds that have posted positive returns over the past consecutive 10 years.
“It should be noted that in Southeast Asia, economic activity is somewhat concentrated in four countries namely Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Singapore. It appears that the growth caliber of this region is far greater than any other area of the globe at this time,” Eric Dutram wrote for Zacks.
The MSCI emerging markets and developed markets country indices reveal that there are several countries that posted positive returns over the past decade. The iShares MSCI Malaysia Index (NYSEArca: EWM), iShares MSCI Phillippines Investable Market Index (NYSEArca: EPHE) and iShares MSCI Thailand Investable Market Index ETF (NYSEArca: THD) have posted growth for the past ten years in a row, reports Richard Shaw for Income Investing Strategy.[Four Country ETFs Bucking the Downtrend]
Malaysia’s ETF has been impressing investors for at least the past 5 years, while posting growth over the past decade. This ETF is a bet that the Malaysian economic expansion continues in to the new year, since there is no compelling reason why it would slow down anytime soon. Even after the strong performance of recent years, Malaysian stocks are still quite cheap, reports ETF DB. The current unemployment rate is practically at zero and growth within the consumer sector is a big driver of the economy. EWM has returned about 22.4% year-to-date, and announced that the fund will yield a 1.97% dividend to shareholders beginning this month. [Emerging Market ETFs: Higher Growth, Better Demographics]
EPHE has been one of the best-performing ETFs in 2012, up 39.2% year-to-date. The recent industrialization of the economy has helped the local economy and the even-sector approach to the focused ETF covers all areas of the country. Politically, the country is stable and the government is dedicated to adhering to political reform. Even amid the global economic instability, the Philippines has remained dedicated to building a strong platform for growth. [Best Emerging Market ETFs]