More investors are venturing beyond the U.S. and developed nations in their search for dividend stocks. Emerging market ETFs that focus on dividend payers are becoming an increasingly popular option.
The two largest emerging market ETFs by assets are iShares MSCI Emerging Markets (NYSEArca: EEM) and Vanguard Emerging Markets ETF (NYSEArca: VWO).
“While these are great funds, we also have an affinity for a dividend-focused emerging-markets fund that has delivered better risk-adjusted returns relative to its cap weighted peers,” Patricia Oey wrote in a Morningstar article.
She singled out WisdomTree Emerging Markets Equity Income (NYSEArca: DEM).
“As the developed world continues to face slow growth in the near term, emerging economies should benefit from a number of long-term growth drivers such as new infrastructure construction, higher-value manufacturing and services exports, and rising domestic consumption. And in the near term, most emerging-markets countries have more leeway to adjust their monetary and fiscal policies to support growth, and inflation risks have ebbed,” Oey said.
Emerging market ETFs have seen heavy inflows in 2012. [ETF Spotlight: Emerging Markets Dividend Fund]