2026 in Focus: Why Emerging Markets Matter

It has not exactly been a stretch to argue that international equities have enjoyed a significant resurgence in investor attention for well over a year now. These companies a great potential source of long-term returns. Additionally, one can use international exposure and emerging markets to help build a more balanced, well-diversified portfolio. 

However, the question remains: where exactly should investors look to focus their international allocations towards? Well, recently BlackRock released its Spring 2026 Investment Directions guide. This guide outlined some of the firm’s insights on positioning your portfolio in lieu of today’s environment. 

In the outlook, the BlackRock team discussed the international stock environment, and where folks might find the best opportunities looking ahead. The outlook noted that international performance struggled a bit in March amid conflict in Iran. However, the BlackRock team asserted that the strong fundamentals backing international equities are still holding strong. Notably, BlackRock highlighted emerging markets as countries worth watching, especially as key beneficiaries of AI momentum. 

See More: Emerging Markets ETFs to Take the Crown Again?

“Emerging market earnings growth has been robust, driven by demand for semiconductors and compute, essential inputs for the AI buildout, and a trend we see as only beginning,” the BlackRock outlook added. “Critically, 75% of the world’s chip manufacturing is centered in East Asia. Resource-rich Latin American countries such as Brazil may also be set to benefit amid rising demand for rare earth minerals, which are used in chip manufacturing.”

EDOG Offers Both Diversification and Yield Through EM Exposure

There are plenty of funds that offer emerging markets exposure, but the ALPS Emerging Sector Dividend Dogs ETF (EDOG) provides a particularly compelling strategy for doing so. The crux of the fund’s strategy comes from its index, the S-Network Emerging Sector Dividend Dogs Index (EDOGX). 

See More: High Dividend ETFs: A 2026 Sector Perspective

The way this index works is fairly simple – it applies the ‘Dogs of the Dow’ theory to emerging markets. Essentially, the index takes the top five securities in terms of yield across each of the ten sectors of the S-Network Emerging Markets 500 Index, and then equally weights them. This approach helps the fund provide diversified exposure to emerging markets. It also accesses dynamic yield at the same time. 

Speaking of yield, EDOG is currently putting up good results on that front. As of March 31, 2026, EDOG has a 30-day SEC yield of 4.97%. The fund’s returns are not worth overlooking either—as of March 31, 2026, the fund’s NAV has risen 24.50% over the last twelve months. 

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VettaFi LLC (“VettaFi”) is the index provider for EDOG, for which it receives an index licensing fee. However, EDOG is not issued, sponsored, endorsed, or sold by VettaFi, and VettaFi has no obligation or liability in connection with the issuance, administration, marketing, or trading of EDOG.