Five BRIC ETFs Your Broker Forgot To Mention

So important and ubiquitous has the acronym become that these days it's all about finding the next BRIC when it comes to emerging markets investing. Coined over a decade ago, BRIC represents the high-growth quartet of Brazil, Russia, India and China. Those are fun places to invest in obvious bull markets, but they leave something to be desired when global financial markets are held hostage everyday by Europe's sovereign debt fiasco. Still, this quartet offers growth that is far superior to that of the developed world. And with many analysts believing the worst of BRIC's monetary tightening has passed and with Chinese stocks looking cheap, it might be time to consider ETFs that offer exposure to all of the BRIC group in one fund. Here are five BRIC funds your broker forgot to mention. iShares MSCI BRIC Index Fund

: The iShares MSCI BRIC Index Fund may not be totally forgotten as it has over $806 million in assets under management, but one thing does standout about this fund: Holdings. As in BKF is home to 331 stocks, but the largest weight to one stock is just 4.26%. Often times, ETF's like BKF will feature big weights to a small number of stocks, so even though this ETF has an expense ratio of 0.69%, it gets a point for diversity. China and Brazil combine for over 68% of BKF's weight. India and Russia follow in that order. Guggenheim BRIC ETF

: The Guggenheim BRIC ETF is no slouch when it comes to emerging markets ETFs even though it doesn't grab a lot of headlines. EEB has over $497 million in AUM and a lower expense ratio, 0.6%, than BKF. Be advised of the differences between the two funds. EEB is home to just 90 stocks and energy names account for almost a quarter of the fund's sector weight. Brazil and China represent over 80% of EEB's country weight while Russia receives an allocation of just 1.27%. EGShares Emerging Markets Metals & Mining ETF

: The EGShares Emerging Markets Metals & Mining ETF isn't designated as a BRIC ETF, but it might as well be as the BRIC Four account for over 52% of this sector fund's country allocation. EMT is designed to provide non-U.S. dollar, equity-based commodity exposure to the largest miners of copper, nickel, platinum, palladium, iron ore, and coal in the emerging markets, according to EGShares. EMT is basically BRIC plus South Africa as that country accounts for 25.6% of the ETF's weight. EGShares GEMS Composite

: Another ETF that technically isn't a BRIC ETF, but really is. Home to 88 stocks, AGEM holds many of the large-cap emerging markets names investors expect in multi-country EM ETFs. Seven countries are represented here, but the BRIC gang accounts for over 70% of the fund's weight. The other three countries are South Africa, Mexico and Indonesia. Direxion Daily BRIC 2X Bull Shares

: For the short-term traders among, BRIL and its bearish equivalent, the Direxion Daily BRIC Bear 2X Shares

are the best bets for leveraged BRIC exposure. Be advised both funds become triple leveraged on Dec. 1, 2011. Bull Case: Obviously, the BRIC quartet still offers superior GDP growth and if inflation in Brazil, China and India can really be contained, then BRIC ETFs have the potential to outperform in 2012. Should oil prices continue climbing, or at least stay in the $95-$100 area, ETFs with Russia exposure will be solid options. Bear Case: Easy. The longer Europe remains an issue, any emerging markets ETF is undesirable.