While equity-based emerging markets exchange traded funds continue to stumble while falling victim to some of the largest outflows since the global financial crisis, emerging market bond ETFs look significantly less bad.
The iShares J.P. Morgan USD Emerging Markets Bond ETF (NYSEArca: EMB) and PowerShares Emerging Markets Sovereign Debt Portfolio (NYSEArca: PCY) have been sturdy alternatives to equity-based emerging markets funds.
While many emerging markets have garnered a bad reputation for experiencing spiraling debt defaults in face of rapid currency depreciation, the developing economies are more resilient in a weak commodities environment.
According to BlackRock, emerging market governments have accumulated less dollar debt, built up foreign reserves and adopted flexible exchange rates to obviate mistakes during the 1980s and 1990s crises. Though the current outlook for emerging markets debt is far from sanguine, some analysts see opportunity in the asset class. [Investors Turn to Emerging Market Bond ETFs for Higher Yields]
Now, some market observers see opportunity with developing world bonds even as stocks from Brazil to China weaken.