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.

A relatively unknown name in the exchange-traded fund industry, Asia Tigers Fund Inc. (GRR) is boasting hefty returns while the US markets continue to stagnate. The fund, which suffers from low volume and a relatively small market cap, continues to be a top performer, showing gains of 54% year to date.

Managed by Blackstone Asia Advisors LLC, the firm is one of the best diversified of any exchange-traded fund on the market today. According to a press release, its top ten holdings represent just 23.4% of the total assets of the fund, with its biggest position in Samsung Electronics, which makes up just 4.3% of the portfolio. The fund is not only diversified by company, but also by nation. Hong Kong, South Korea, China, Taiwan and India are home to the largest portions of the fund and represent 79.3% of assets.

Recently, investors have been able to buy the fund at a discount, often as much as 7% by July 31. Very few closed end funds ever trade at such a hefty discount.

A freshly launched exchange-traded fund from Emerging Global Shares promised broad diversification amongst emerging markets, though the fund’s holdings show otherwise. The Emerging Global Shares’ Dow Jones Emerging Markets Titans Composite Index Fund (EEG: Quote, Profile, Advanced Chart, News) seeks to invest in a vast array of stocks, but its current picks are not necessarily geographically diversified.

The exchange-traded fund is weighted like most selective, rather than broad, emerging-market funds, with much of its holdings resting in areas know as BRIC, or Brazil, Russia, India and China, according to The Street. The fund invests a combined 40% in China and Brazil, followed by 18% in India and 14% in Russia, which brings the BRIC total to a combined 72%. The ETF’s largest holding, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, comprises a dramatic 8% of the fund and 40% of the total invested in China.

Other funds typically diversify in other Asian countries, choosing to invest in countries such as South Korea and Taiwan, which both exhibit fundamentally strong manufacturing economies. As with any exchange-traded fund, investors should read each ETF’s prospectus completely before investing, as the name of the fund often differs from its actual investing strategy.

Emerging market exchange-traded funds will soon experience a dramatic shift in the countries they invest. As of this year, South Korea, a staple in most emerging market ETFs, will be upgraded to a developed nation status and no longer qualifies for investment from emerging market-only funds.

The Street reports that one particular fund, the iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF (EEM: Quote, Profile, Advanced Chart, News), will be radically changed by the upgrade and suggests that Thailand and Chile could make up the void. Chile is one of the few emerging market nations that has a trade surplus from its copper reserves. Thailand, a net exporter of clothing and other manufactured materials, is another solution for the South Korean void, but it lacks the stability of the Chilean government.

Whatever the result, emerging market ETFs across the board will see large changes in holdings and volatility in light of South Korea’s upgrade.

Barclays Bank has provided a diversified opportunity to invest in various currencies of the Asian region. According to the Mondo Visione article, Barclays has listed a new ETN on the NYSE Arca that gives access to eight different currencies within emerging markets of Asia. The new ETN, known as the Barclays GEMS Asia 8 ETN (AYT), will follow the Barclays Global Emerging Markets Strategy (GEMS) Asia 8 Index. Mondo Visione has listed the eight markets and associated currencies that are included in the new note: Indonesian rupiah, Indian rupee, Philippine peso, South Korean won, Thai baht, Malaysian ringgit, Taiwanese dollar, and Chinese yuan.