Investors loading up on cheap developing stocks

Traders work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., February 29, 2024. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo

NEW YORK: As investors scour the globe for under-valued stocks, one increasingly popular destination is actively managed exchange-traded funds (ETFs) that focus on emerging markets.

In the US$348bil market for ETFs that invest in developing-nation assets, the holdings of only about 5% of funds are actively managed – rather than pinned directly to an underlying index, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.