However, South Africa is EMHD’s second-largest country weight and several South African firms have raised their dividends just since the start of September. South Africa may not be the first dividend destination investors think of, but there are currently almost 30 stocks on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange with yields of 3.5% or higher.
While Brazil and South Africa are not trading at discounts to the MSCI Emerging Markets Index, EMHD is adequately allocated to discounted markets. China and Turkey, two of the five emeging markets with the widest discounts to their historical averages, combine for over 28% of EMHD’s weight. Regarding China, the world’s second-largest economy is now the largest developing world dividend payer in dollar terms.
Other markets represented in the new fund include Pakistan, Thailand, India, Egypt, Colombia and Chile. EMHD charges 0.85% per year and EMHD has risen 3.7% since its August 15 debut.
ETF Trends editorial team contributed to this post.