She said: "Ten years ago, the average Isa investor would probably have held a UK-only fund. These figures show that they are now increasingly willing to explore new areas to diversify their portfolio."
However, figures from the Investment Management Association show that net sales into emerging markets funds dropped from �745 million in November to �96 million in January ? a fall of 87pc ? which indicates that some investors may have turned their back on the sector.
Concerns over inflation and interest rates in emerging markets are the primary drivers of uncertainly while net returns from emerging markets have underperformed the MSCI World GDP index by 7.4pc so far in 2011.
Rupert Watson, head of asset allocation at Skandia Investment Group, said that despite this underperformance, investors could be missing out on a significant opportunity if they ignored emerging markets.
He said: "Emerging economies continue to grow rapidly and we expect this to continue over the next few years and decades. While the inflation and interest rate worries are real, they are already reflected in current equity prices, while the recent exodus by some global investors creates a good opportunity now.
"We expect emerging market central banks to succeed in controlling inflation through a combination of higher interest rates and stronger currencies. Once this becomes appreciated, emerging markets could outperform substantially."
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