3 Promising Diversified Emerging-Markets Funds

The diversified emerging-markets category continues to expand at a rapid clip. A total of 69 new funds have opened in the category in the past three years, which is roughly the same amount as have opened across the six foreign-stock groups (large-value, small/mid-blend, and so on) and twice as many as have opened within the seven other regional international-stock categories during the period.

Most of the young diversified emerging-markets funds can safely be ignored at this point for one reason or another. Their track records are short, and often their managers and strategies haven't already established their emerging-markets bona fides on other offerings. Several of the new offerings that do have proven managers and strategies have really high expense ratios.

But some of the emerging-markets funds that have opened in recent years merit attention. Columbia Acorn Emerging Markets , Seafarer Overseas Growth & Income (SFGIX), and Thomas White Emerging Markets have several factors in their favor and are worth checking out despite their youth. Here are the details on each.

Columbia Acorn Emerging Markets  
This 21-month-old fund, which focuses on smaller-cap growth stocks in the developing world, has a strong foundation. Its advisor, Wanger Asset Management, specializes in small- and mid-cap growth investing and has a strong track record in that field. This fund relies on the same sound, quality-oriented stock-selection strategy as the other funds in its advisor's lineup, including Silver-rated  Columbia Acorn International (LAIAX), a foreign small/mid-growth fund with a long and successful history of investing sizable amounts in emerging-markets stocks. And this fund is managed by four Wanger veterans who have lots of emerging-markets experience and who have played major roles in the success of Columbia Acorn International. Fritz Kaegi and Stephen Kusmierczak, who are the lead managers on this fund, have long selected stocks in their areas of expertise for the International fund, while Zach Egan and Louis Mendes, who serve as comanagers on this fund, have been the lead managers on Columbia Acorn International since 2003.

The managers have executed the family's quality growth discipline deftly during this fund's short history. Thanks in large part to the strength of their consumer cyclical picks, including the Cambodian casino operator NagaCorp and Ace Hardware Indonesia, this fund earned a 15.6% annualized gain from its August 2011 inception through May 29, 2013, while the MSCI Emerging Markets Small Cap Index posted a 7.2% annualized return and the typical smaller-cap diversified emerging-markets offering delivered a 10.4% annualized gain. And the managers' strategy leads to a distinctive portfolio with a nice mix of bolder and tamer traits, so this fund has the potential to build on its strong start and produce good risk-adjusted returns over the long run. 

Seafarer Overseas Growth & Income (SFGIX)
This diversified emerging-markets fund is in the hands of a seasoned and skilled skipper. Before founding Seafarer Capital Partners in early 2011, Andrew Foster spent more than a decade at Matthews International Capital Management. There he served as director of research for several years, as acting chief investment officer for a couple of years, and as a portfolio manager on various emerging-Asia funds. His record as a portfolio manager there--which includes multiyear stints as the lead manager of  Matthews India (MINDX) and  Matthews Asian Growth & Income (MACSX)--was quite strong overall.

Foster is using essentially the same strategy at this fund as he used at Matthews Asian Growth & Income. He is looking for sustainable growers that are reaping strong cash profits and are paying dividends or buying back their shares. He considers preferred stocks, convertible bonds, and corporate bonds as well as common stocks, takes a benchmark-agnostic approach, and moves at a measured pace. 

This distinctive approach has delivered impressive long-term risk-adjusted returns at Matthews Asian Growth & Income, and Foster has earned excellent results with it during this fund's first 15 months. This fund posted a 16.3% annualized gain from its February 2012 inception through May 29, 2013, while the MSCI Emerging Markets Index incurred a 0.2% annualized loss and the average diversified emerging-markets fund produced a 3.3% annualized gain over this period. And Seafarer Capital Partners has put in place an expense waiver that caps this fund's expense ratio at 1.40%, which is 8 basis points below the median of 1.48% for no-load emerging-markets funds. 

Thomas White Emerging Markets  
This fund, which opened in mid-2010, has a lot going for it. For starters, it is now nearly three years old; it has already encountered a diverse array of investment climates; and it has consistently performed better than both the MSCI Emerging Markets Index and the typical member of the diversified emerging-markets category. This fund earned a 7.6% annualized gain from its June 2010 inception through May 29, 2013, whereas the MSCI Emerging Markets Index posted a 4.9% annualized return and the typical peer produced a 5.4% annualized gain over the period.

What's more, there are ample grounds to believe this fund can continue to outperform. This fund is in the hands of the same strong team that manages Bronze-rated  Thomas White International . The team has delivered superior long-term risk-adjusted returns at that foreign large-value fund while consistently investing sizable amounts in the developing world. And it is using the same quant-driven, value-oriented strategy at this fund as it does at that offering. The advisor has put an expense waiver in place that caps this fund's expense ratio at 1.34%, which is 14 basis points below the median of 1.48% for no-load emerging-markets funds.