“It’s hard not to be bullish,” Viktor Szabo, a manager emerging-market debt at Aberdeen, said in the article. “It’s getting increasingly difficult for European investors to meet higher interest-rate demands and EM is there.”
Bond ETF investors can also access local-currency EM debt through the iShares Emerging Markets Local Currency Bond ETF (NYSEArca: LEMB) and Market Vectors Emerging Markets Local Currency Bond ETF (NYSEArca: EMLC). LEMB has a 4.53% 30-day SEC yield and EMLC has a 5.71% 30-day SEC yield. However, potential investors should be aware that since the underlying debt securities are denominated in their local currencies, the ETFs are exposed to currency risks.
Bank of America Corp also believes that Russia could benefit from the ECB’s move as the Eurozone is one of Russia’s largest oil importers. The loose monetary policy and depreciating euro would help Russia’s ruble strengthen against the Eurozone currency. The Market Vectors Russia ETF (NYSEArca: RSX) has been been one of the worst performing emerging market ETFs over the past year, falling 41.2%. [Some Bond ETFs Hurt by Dollar’s Surge]
On the other hand, Goldman Sachs Group warns that markets assets with low-yield currencies will lose their appeal, including Hungary, Poland, Israel and South Korea.
For more information on developing economies, visit our emerging markets category.
Max Chen contributed to this article.