iShares Frontier and Select EM ETF

FM

Market cap $188M

After a rocky few years, First Quantum Minerals (FM 1.60%) may be poised for a rebound. The Canadian mining giant, known for being one of the world's largest copper producers, has seen its shares tumble more than 30% from July 28, 2023, through today.

Pakistan's IT sector, exemplified by Systems Limited, has the potential to drive economic growth, create jobs, and generate foreign currency, similar to India's success. Increasing exports and foreign investments are crucial for Pakistan's economic stability, with potential incentives and a "Stock Connect" initiative to facilitate foreign investments.

This article explores the iShares Frontier and Select EM ETF, an ETF targeting frontier markets - even smaller and less developed than emerging markets. Frontier markets have lower liquidity and higher risk compared to emerging markets. Geographically, the fund is concentrated in Vietnam, Kazakhstan, and Romania as top exposures. Financials, Materials, and Real Estate are the dominant sectors.

Last week saw issuers roll out a dozen new ETFs, including launches from AllianceBernstein, OneAscent and YieldMax. Among the other debuts were five new target-maturity bond funds as well as buffer strategies and a new angle on the Nasdaq-100.

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The iShares Frontier and Select EM ETF offers exposure to frontier markets, providing a unique layer of global diversification. The ETF's holdings are diversified across various frontier and emerging markets, including Vietnam, Kazakhstan, Egypt, and more. Investing in frontier markets comes with the potential for high returns but also high risks, such as political instability and limited regulatory oversight.

Emerging markets continued to expand at a solid pace midway into the first quarter of 2024, supported by broad-based expansion across both manufacturing and service sectors.

The iShares Frontier and Select EM ETF offers coverage to frontier market stocks and some exposure to emerging markets. FM has outperformed the popular iShares Core MSCI Emerging Markets ETF since its debut in 2012 but there are question marks over its ability to adequately juggle risk. There are promising signs in some of FM's top regional exposures such as Vietnam and Romania whilst the ETF's overall valuations are dirt cheap.