By David Stevenson – In this column I am going to touch on the rather sensitive and controversial subjects of emerging markets (EM) and smart beta. Crucially, I want to argue that investing in EM equities could have been a far more rewarding pursuit over the last 12 months if (and it’s a big if) you’d have focused on the right kind of stocks.

Global index provider FTSE has announced that there are now more than 100 exchange-traded funds (ETFs) listed in North America which are based on FTSE indices. The milestone was reached following a spate of new ETF launches. Jonathan Horton, president of FTSE Americas and head of the firm’s ETP Service Unit, said: “We are delighted to have reached this important milestone which underscores FTSE’s position as a leading global provider of tradable benchmarks.”

Emerging Global Advisors (EGA) has added another innovative dividend fund to its growing roster of emerging market ETFs with the launch of the EGShares EM Dividend High Income ETF (EMHD) on the NYSE Arca. The fund, which is linked to an index co-developed by EGA and FTSE, provides exposure to emerging market companies that have consistently generated high income for their shareholders.

WisdomTree has announced the launch of the WisdomTree Emerging Markets Dividend Growth Fund (DGRE). The ETF provides exposure to dividend-paying emerging markets stocks with growth characteristics. Jeremy Schwartz, WisdomTree Director of Research, said: “In contrast to many popular emerging markets equity strategies, DGRE has heavy exposure to the consumer sectors – which tend to be more closely tied to the economic growth potential of domestic markets, as well as defensive sectors – which have historically lower volatility.

Index giant S&P Dow Jones Indices has added to its expanding equity income offering with the launch of the S&P Brazil Dividend Indices, a new family of indices tracking the performance of dividend-paying securities focused on the Brazilian market. The index family is composed of three different indices offering a range of exposures from dividend stability to pure high yield to small- and mid-cap stocks.

Emerging Global Advisors, a specialist provider of emerging markets-focused exchange-traded funds (ETFs), has announced the launch of the EGShares Emerging Markets Dividend Growth ETF (EMDG) on the NYSE Arca. Marten Hoekstra, CEO of Emerging Global Advisors, said: “Many emerging market-based multinational companies have demonstrated their ability to increase dividends. We launched EMDG as an investment tool to enable dividend growth investors to implement their investment strategy in emerging markets and diversify dividend yield sources.”

IndexIQ, a US-based provider of niche exchange-traded funds (ETFs), is to shut the IQ Emerging Markets Mid Cap ETF (EMER). With less than $2m in assets, it appears the fund is just too small to justify its existence. By targeting the mid-capitalisation sector of publicly traded companies in emerging markets, the fund provided access to a niche market segment that is otherwise hard to reach. Fortunately for investors, there are alternatives to consider once the fund closes.

Emerging Global Advisors has announced the launch of the EGShares Emerging Markets Core ETF (EMCR), an exchange-traded fund (ETF) that aims to provide a diversified core approach for investors seeking broad exposure to emerging market equities. The fund is the first to track the S&P Emerging Markets Core Index, a newly launched index from S&P Dow Jones.

Amid growing wealth and increased government spending, pharmaceuticals, medical technology and health infrastructure have been highlighted as attractive investments in emerging markets. For investors seeking broad exposure to emerging markets healthcare, a number of exchange-traded funds (ETFs) fit the bill. Moreover, many of these funds, such as the db x-trackers MSCI Emerging Markets Healthcare TRN Index ETF (XMEH) and the EGShares Health Care GEMS ETF (HGEM), have been strong performers this year, demonstrating the potential of the sector.