Dividend-paying stocks are a hot topic these days, since they are one of the few investments that can provide a decent yield in the current environment. Any discussion about dividends is typically tilted toward U.S. equities — and not without good reason, considering the large number of blue-chip stocks that currently offer yields north of 4%.

However, investors who neglect the dividend options outside of our borders may be missing the boat. If you’re looking for high-dividend investments, consider the WisdomTree Emerging Markets Equity Income Fund (NYSE:DEM), which now sports a yield of 7.1% following last week’s selloff. At this level, the yield on DEM is extremely competitive relative to other broadly-based ETFs:

Perhaps the most notable comparison here is EMB, since an investor in DEM can actually earn 250 basis points more in yield by owning emerging-market equities rather than emerging-market bonds. It’s tough to make a case for EMB or other emerging-market bond investment when DEM offers superior growth potential on top of a much higher yield.

Importantly, DEM’s yield advantage isn’t offset by a higher degree of risk. In fact, since its inception in July, 2007 DEM has actually outperformed the U.S.-focused DVY by more than 30 percentage points:

Further, the dividend component makes DEM less risky than a traditional emerging-markets investment, as represented by the iShares MSCI Emerging Markets Index Fund (NYSE:EEM):

DEM is highly diversified, with 281 holdings and no individual position making up more than 4% of assets, as of last Friday. As a result, there’s no reason to expect any surprises from this ETF aside from normal market volatility. In addition, a look at the list of highest-yielding emerging-market ADRs reveals a list heavily populated with financials and telecoms. DEM holds more than half of its assets outside of these two market segments, helping investors get around the problem of sector concentration that would occur from selecting individual stocks.

It’s also important to keep in mind that the emerging markets themselves are a superior investment option relative to the developed markets. While the U.S., Europe, and Japan are saddled with low growth, high debt, and disastrous fiscal management, the opposite is true for most emerging markets. Investors need to ask themselves which asset class — developed countries or emerging markets — they would rather buy and hold for 10 years. Based on the events of the past month, the choice seems clear.

While WisdomTree Emerging Markets Equity Income Fund has grown substantially since its launch a little over four years ago, the data suggests that it’s still flying under the radar. Consider that DEM has about $1.6 billion in total assets and an average volume of roughly 355,000 shares during the past three months. In comparison, the largest U.S.-focused dividend ETF – iShares Dow Jones Select Dividend Index (NYSE:DVY) – has $6.4 billion in assets and a three-month average volume of 1.2 million shares.

Nevertheless, DVY was yielding 3.9% as of Monday’s close, 45% below that of the less-popular DEM. A look at the total picture indicates that it’s time for investors to begin paying more attention to DEM.