'BRIC' ETF Investing: Getting Started in China

While China may be the last letter in BRIC, it's at the top of the list for many global investors. And China-focused exchange-traded funds (ETFs ) are proving to be an efficient and rewarding way to invest in this highflying emerging market.

The BRIC Buzz

The "BRIC" countries are Brazil, Russia, India and China. What do they have in common? According to analysts from almost every financial powerhouse in the world, the BRIC countries are the four emerging-market economies that are predicted to grow the fastest and most robustly over the next several decades.

That means an investment in a BRIC country today could outpace most anything you'll be able to to invest in domestically (see "'BRIC' ETF Investing: An Introduction").

Yes, BRIC is all the rage, and for good reason: BRIC companies and funds have seen serious growth (see the "Portfolio Tracking" section of Stockpickr's "Highest Yielding BRIC Stocks" Portfolio), and now BRIC-focused ETFs are making reaping the rewards from these emerging markets easier than ever before (see the Claymore/BNY BRIC ETF (EEB)).

About the C in BRIC

Everybody's talking about China. Even if you don't follow the financial news all that closely, you've probably heard at least some chatter of China's economy growing in leaps and bounds. Well, the Chinese market really has taken off, and so have China-based companies' stock prices (see "Chinese Rocket Stocks" and "China's Baidu Ready to Rocket").

While China is a communist country on the surface, deep down the it seems to be filled with capitalists. China has long had a reputation for being closed off from the West, but several Chinese companies, such as China Mobile (CHL) and SINA (SINA), now trade here in the U.S. Shifts in China's foreign policy (such as allowing investors in the U.S. to invest money in Chinese companies) are fueling huge changes to their economy.