Over the past few months, foreign investment flows into emerging market stocks surged, despite any notable changes to the growth, dividends and corporate earnings in the developing economies.
The only standout factor may be the attractive yields, with the EM dividend yield relative to the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury now close to its highest in recent years and well above the long-term average of minus 108 basis points.
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As loose central bank policies pushed up valuations on investment-grade government bonds, the low bond yield environment has upturned the traditional role of emerging stocks.
U.S. investors can capitalize on the rush toward emerging market dividend payers through related ETF strategies. For example, the WisdomTree Emerging Markets Equity Income Fund (NYSEArca: DEM), which tracks high-dividend-yielding companies in the emerging market region, has a 4.90% 12-month yield. Additionally, investors can look at the WisdomTree Emerging Markets SmallCap Dividend Fund (NYSEArca: DGS), which has a 3.14% 12-month yield, for dividend-paying small-cap exposure.
ETF investors may also consider fund options from other providers. For instance, the iShares Emerging Markets Dividend ETF (NYSEArca: DVYE) has a 4.83% 12-month yield and the SPDR S&P Emerging Markets Dividend ETF (NYSEArca: EDIV) has a 4.99% 12-month yield.
For more information on dividend stocks, visit our dividend ETFs category.