While some observers argue (and some index providers agree) that South Korea and Taiwan are no longer emerging markets, the two are among the steadier, less volatile Asian plays. Over the past three months, the iShares MSCI Taiwan ETF (NYSEArca: EWT) and the iShares MSCI South Korea Capped ETF (NYSEArca: EWY) have traded higher as investors have embraced, strong currency account surplus stories in the developing world.
Ajay Kapur, Asia strategist for Bank of America Merrill Lynch likes China’s banks, Japanese and Chinese telcos, Chinese property stocks and Korean semiconductor players, Barron’s reported.
The new SPDR MSCI EM Beyond BRIC ETF (NYSEArca: EMBB) is an option to consider for investors looking for ample exposure to South Korea and Taiwan via a diversified emerging markets ETF.
Traditional diversified emerging markets ETFs usually have large allocations to Chinese and sagging Brazilian companies, but EMBB excludes the BRIC quartet while featuring a combined 30.5% weight to South Korea and Taiwan. EMBB debuted on Dec. 4 and has $6 million in assets under management.
ETF Trends editorial team contributed to this post.