From Iran to North Korea, investors spy the new frontier

Iran's President Hassan Rouhani speaks during a session at the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos January 23, 2014. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse

LONDON (Reuters) - Iran, hoping for a full lifting of western sanctions, and North Korea are among extreme frontier markets that could attract adventurous fund managers with the stomach for high political risk in the search for higher returns.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani told business and political leaders at the World Economic Forum in Switzerland on Thursday that Iran was negotiating with the United States as part of a "constructive engagement", inviting European companies to seize opportunities as relations normalise.