An exchange-traded fund that invests in stocks and listed securities associated with the countries of Brazil, Russia, India and China. BRIC ETFs are designed to give holders diversified exposure to these growing countries. Assets are invested in both locally issued stocks and shares that trade on exchanges in the U.S. and Europe. The portfolio allocation among the four counties may vary from fund to fund, but all ETFs in the space should be passively invested around an underlying index.
Investing in the BRIC economies has been on the rise as increased economic globalization creates higher levels of world trade and commerce. Brazil, Russia, India and China have had strong growth in gross domestic product (GDP) over the past few decades, with recent rates much higher than those found in the United States and the Eurozone. BRIC ETFs may carry slightly higher expense ratios than funds focused on the U.S. and Europe due to the higher costs of investing directly in these foreign stock markets.