Emerging-Markets Mavericks Target Regional Funds for Payoffs (1)

In a banner year for emerging markets, the best returns have gone to investors who targeted regional indexes and ignored the Asia-heavy global benchmarks.

While the most widely tracked gauge of developing-nation stocks, the MSCI Emerging Markets Index, is beating the S&P 500 for the first time since 2017, returns for sub-indexes in Latin America and Eastern Europe are as much as four times higher. That’s because the benchmark global indexes are dominated by companies in Asia, the region most impacted by President Donald Trump’s tariff threats that has also been the biggest laggard in an otherwise extraordinary ...