Facing stiff competition from other fund sponsors, Emerging Global Shares brought its newest fund to market in just four months, hoping to quell interest from other fund issuers in emerging markets.

The Brazil Infrastructure Index ETF (BRXX: News) builds on a general interest among investors in both emerging-market and infrastructure sector ETFs. The fund will track 30 of the largest companies in the sector that operate in Brazil and mirror returns of the INDXX Brazil Infrastructure Index, according to a press release.

The funds largest holdings by sector are Metals and Mining (14.25%), Telecommunications (14.18%), Utilities (12.25%), Power Producers (11.27%) and Transportation Infrastructure (8.15%). The fund will trade with a .85% annual expense on the NYSE Arca exchange.

The race to dominate country specific funds is in full swing. iShares recently filed with the SEC to create another six country-specific ETFs.

The six new funds are:

1. iShares MSCI Brazil Small Cap Index Fund

2. iShares MSCI Egypt Capped Investable Market Index Fund

3. iShares MSCI Ireland Capped Investable Market Index Fund

4. iShares MSCI Philippines Investable Market Index Fund

5. iShares MSCI Russia Capped Index Fund

6. iShares MSCI USA Index Fund

Similar to previous country-specific funds from iShares, all will track an MSCI index to generate returns for investors. iShares’ entry into Brazil is interesting, as the firm already operates a broad based fund that invests in the largest Brazilian companies. The small-cap blend will compete directly with Van Eck’s Market Vectors Brazil Small-Cap Fund (BRF: Quote, Profile, Advanced Chart, News), which took the markets by storm in 2009 and attracted more than $700 million in assets.

iShares will be the first ETF sponsor to track Egyptian and Irish stocks, two areas that are currently under-represented with ETF investors. Neither ticket symbols nor annual expense ratios have been released.

First Trust has filed with the SEC to create three new funds - two commodities and one emerging market - that will seek to latch onto the growing market for the two asset classes.

First Trust filed for the following three ETFs with the SEC:

1. First Trust BICK Index Fund

2. First Trust ISE Global Copper Index Fund

3. First Trust ISE Global Platinum Index Fund

The First Trust BICK Index Fund (BICK) is a play on the commonly associated growth countries: Brazil, Russia, India and China. However, the ETF will exclude Russia in favor of South Korea, according to the SEC filing. The fund will equally weigh each country with 25% of the portfolio.

The First Trust ISE Global Copper Index Fund and First Trust ISE Global Platinum Index Fund will track firms involved in mining, exploration, and refining copper and platinum. The platinum fund will be expanded to include companies involved in similar metals, such as palladium, osmium, iridium, ruthenium and rhodium. Each fund will trade with a .70% annual fee.

WisdomTree has filed with the SEC to create two new funds that track the change of the American dollar against a basket of world currencies. The new funds will compete with PowerShares US DB Dollar ETF (UUP: Quote, Profile, Advanced Chart, News), which has attracted more than $3 billion from investors.

The WisdomTree Rising Dollar Fund, one of the new funds, will seek to provide performance equivalent to the change in the value of the US dollar against 15 other world currencies. The fund will invest in Treasury bonds, as well as money markets and currency contracts, to derive returns for its investors.

WisdomTree Commodity Currency Fund will seek out currency investments in countries with strong commodity producing industries. The fund is centered on the relative value of the currencies represented by the following countries: Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Indonesia, Mexico, New Zealand, Norway, Russia and South Africa, according to the SEC filing.

As 2009 comes to a close, the year will be remembered for its tumultuous markets and the explosion of the exchange-traded fund industry. Scared investors and large profits in heavily invested ETF sectors proved to be the driving force behind fund successes.

One of the best performers throughout 2009 was the emerging markets. Brazil topped the best performing list with a 116.8% return, followed by China at 97.3%. However, risky investments weren’t the main ETF driver, as gold ETFs funneled away $11 billion in 2009, representing 44% of all commodity inflows, Financial Planning reports.

Fixed-income investments could have single-handedly made ETFs a household name, pulling in a dramatic $200 billion out of the $305 billion inflow for 2009. Short term treasury bonds and TIPS were on the top of investor’s shopping list, as investors sought less volatile investments. In total, exchange-traded funds swelled to assets of $783 billion for 64% year-over-year growth.