Emerging Market ETF Hot Streak - Has the Ship Sailed?

With the run emerging market ETFs have been on, many investors might be wondering whether it's simply too late to get in. But is it? Check out some of the numbers:

• Year-to-date, there have been some very impressive numbers coming out of emerging markets: China isup 84%, Peru is up 109% and India is up 64%, according to BusinessWeek
• Eastern Europe has teamed up with the IMF to resolve liquidity issues in the region
• In South Africa, banks continue to lend and corporate demand for credit is up
• Brazil's economy is said to have turned a corner as employment and industrial activity returns to growth
• Emerging markets now make up 50% of the world's gross domestic product
• Developing markets are perched upon stockpiles of cash, healthy banks and at least steady-to-moderate growth (contrast that with developed markets, which aren't in as quite a comfortable position)

With growth like that, it's no surprise that many investors might be pausing before they move to ask themselves whether this run can really continue.

That's an impossible question to answer beyond saying that the trend won't last forever. But for now, you can't fight the trend. iShares MSCI Emerging Markets (NYSE: EEM) is up 43.2% year-to-date and is 14.9% above its 200-day moving average. For more targeted exposure, there are single-country funds and regional ETFs as well, including but in no way limited to:

• Claymore/BNY Mellon BRIC (NYSE: EEB)
• WisdomTree Middle East Dividend (Nasdaq: GULF)
• SPDR S&P China (NYSE: GXC)
• SPDR S&P Emerging Middle East & Africa (NYS: GAF)

For risk-averse investors, a broader fund may be better suited. For investors who can stomach a little more volatility and risk, a single-country fund may be the ticket.

If exposure to emerging markets is something you'd like and it's right for your portfolio and goals, then check the trend line to be sure that one is in place. To protect yourself against volatility or a trend's end, be sure to have a stop-loss in place before you take a position and stick to it.