Most international investors likely are familiar with BRIC investment and funds – an acronym that stands for Brazil, Russia, India and China. For nearly a decade, the term BRIC has been synonymous with emerging market investment opportunity. But recently a new emerging market acronym is gaining currency: CIVETS.

BRIC investment countries have proven their merit when it comes to outpacing the field in terms of both economic growth and potential upside for investors. And while not all BRICs are created equal—China being the biggest and best performer—the grouping of these countries together as areas of burgeoning investment opportunity has largely been proven accurate. But recently, economist Jim O’Neill of Goldman Sachs, the man who originally coined the initial term BRICs, has designate what he thinks are the next great emerging market opportunities — Columbia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Egypt, Turkey and South Africa. The CIVETS for short.

These CIVETS countries have the potential to deliver investors some sizeable returns over the next several years and beyond.  Already the equity markets in each of these nations have shown big gains, and thanks to country-specific exchange-traded funds (ETFs), individual investors now have the ability to easily and efficiently gain exposure to these hot markets.

So, what’s driving the CIVETS economies higher? Well, all of them boast a large, young and growing population, and each can honestly say they have a diverse economy. Politically speaking, each of the CIVETS are relatively stable, but remember that the term “stable” is a little more tenuous when discussing emerging market countries.  The CIVETS nations also are by and large rich in natural resources, and their citizens are for the most part experiencing growing personal incomes.  But perhaps the biggest growth driver pushing the CIVETS nations higher is their connection to China.

Recently, the expression “new Silk Road” has been used to describe the growing commercial interaction between the emerging markets of Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America. The original Silk Road was the emergence of trade routes that established commerce between Asia, the Middle East and Europe around the second century.  This 21st-century version of the Silk Road largely connects China and its voracious demand for commodities with commodity-producing countries—many of which are CIVETS nations.  As China’s booming economy continues growing, so too will the CIVETS economies—and likely their stock markets—and that means big potential gains for the ETFs tied to CIVETS countries.

Here are the six major ETFs tied to the CIVETS:

• Columbia: Global X/InterBolsa FTSE Colombia 20 (GXG)
• Indonesia: Market Vectors Indonesia Index (IDX)
• Vietnam:  Market Vectors Vietnam (VNM)
• Egypt:  Market Vectors Egypt Index (EGPT)
• Turkey:  iShares MSCI Turkey Index (TUR)
• South Africa:  iShares MSCI South Africa (EZA)

The biggest ETF winners here so far in 2010 are Columbia (+41.03%), Indonesia (+25.67%) and Turkey (+11.06%).  Egypt has only seen a small gain over the past three months (EGPT began trading in February 2010), while Vietnam is down -11.62% year to date.  Two thirds of the CIVETS nations have made investors some serious money this year, and as you can see by the table below, these ETFs pack some powerful, fast-paced growth punch.

Note that EGPT only began trading in February, so there is not a full-year record for the ETF.

If you’re an international investor looking for robust growth opportunities, then you owe yourself a closer look at the CIVETS.

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