In many ways the parallel development of exchange-traded funds and the investment case for emerging markets has been a happy coincidence. ETFs have enjoyed a huge wave of interest from investors wanting to tap into high-growth markets as they can offer broad exposure or drill down into specific areas.

According to data from asset manager BlackRock, there were 428 ETFs covering emerging markets by the end of 2010, with $237.6bn in assets. In 2010 itself, 129 new emerging market ETFs were launched and assets under management rose by $74.4bn, a 45.6% increase over the year.