I don’t want to buy international stocks — but these 2 ETFs could be a great way to get exposure

I’ve been a stock market investor for more than 20 years, but I’m much more comfortable valuing US stocks than international ones — even though there are some excellent investment opportunities outside of the major US stock markets. It can be difficult to assess things like geopolitical risk, foreign country regulatory risks, currency risk, and more.

However, just because I don’t want to buy individual international stocks doesn’t mean I don’t want any exposure. There are a few international exchange-traded funds (ETFs) that you can buy, and there are two in particular that are on my radar right now.

International Income Shares

I tend to gravitate towards value stocks and dividend growth investments in my portfolio, so an ETF like iShares International Select Dividend ETF (IDV 0.13%) it seems like a natural fit. The fund focuses on developed markets, with heavy exposure to the UK, Italy, Spain, France and Canada, to name the largest geographies.

As of Aug. 26, the ETF has 123 different stocks and is a weighted index fund, meaning larger companies make up more of the portfolio. To name just a few holdings, British American Tobacco, BHP Groupand Mercedes-Benz are among the largest in the portfolio.

The iShares International Select Dividend ETF has an expense ratio of 0.51%, which is certainly on the high side for an index fund. But as a general rule, the more specialized an index fund is, the more you should expect to pay in investment expenses. Income investors might love this ETF — it has a dividend yield of 6.2% at the time of writing and plenty of upside potential for years to come.

Lots of opportunities in emerging markets

The ETF Vanguard Emerging Markets Index Fund (VWO 0.27%) is an incredibly efficient way to gain exposure to emerging market stocks with an expense ratio of just 0.08%.

This is a highly diverse ETF with over 5,900 stocks. Nearly three-quarters of the fund’s holdings are based in China, India or Taiwan, and several of the top holdings in the weighted index are well known to US investors, including Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, Tencent Holdingsand Alibaba.

Right now, emerging market stocks look like excellent value. The average earnings growth rate of the stocks held by the ETF is 16% annualized over the past five years, and the average valuation is just 15 times earnings.

It is also worth noting that although emerging markets are often considered speculative investments for growth-oriented investors, this is not entirely correct. First, the Vanguard Emerging Markets ETF has a substantial dividend yield of 3.1%. Additionally, you might be surprised to learn that the ETF has a beta of 0.9 — anything less than 1 indicates that an investment tends to be less volatile than S&P 500.

Two great choices, but very different

For some investors, one of these might be the obvious choice. If your priority is steady income, the iShares International Dividend ETF is probably the best fit for you, and if you’re more of a value seeker, the Vanguard Emerging Markets ETF might be the better option.

To be clear, I don’t think investors looking for exposure to international stocks will go wrong with either ETF; I consider both for my own portfolio. So if you’re looking to add some international action without having to pick individual companies, these are two solid picks that deserve a closer look.