As investors look for new avenues of growth in developing world beyond the BRIC nations and highly developed emerging markets like South Korea and Taiwan, ETF issuers are meeting that demand with new concepts that further slice and dice investable developing markets.
Guggenheim, the eighth-largest U.S. ETF issuer, could add to the non-BRIC ETF fray with addition of the Guggenheim ASEAN Leaders ETF. The sponsor has filed plans for the new ETF with the Securities and Exchange Commission, though the SEC filing does not include a ticker or expense ratio for the ETF, nor does it mention which index the fund would track, indicating a launch date probably is not imminent.
The new ETF, assuming it comes to market, would offer exposure to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. That group includes countries such as Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. Guggenheim’s ASEAN offering would likely be a direct competitor to the Global X FTSE ASEAN 40 ETF (NYSEArca: ASEA).
ASEA, which debuted in February 2011, has exposure to Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines, though Singapore, a developed market, and Malaysia combine for about 62% of the ETF’s weight. [Best Emerging Markets ETFs]
Guggenheim’s ASEAN offering could join a growing list of emerging markets ETFs that eschew the BRIC nations of Brazil, Russia, India and China. Last year, Emerging Global Advisors introduced the EGShares Beyond BRICs ETF (NYSEArca: BBRC), which is heavily allocated to South Africa, Mexico, Malaysia Thailand and Indonesia.
Last month, the issuer said BBRC will drop the Indxx Beyond BRICs Index in favor of the FTSE Beyond BRICs Index. The FTSE Beyond BRICs Index will allow BBRC to expand its lineup to as many as 75 stocks from 50 along with allowing for the inclusion of frontier markets. [Another Beyond BRICs Index Comes to Town]