Global growth is certainly edgy at this moment with the main culprits being the Chinese economic slowdown, commodity market rout and its adverse impact on emerging markets and obviously the relentless tension in the energy sector. The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) also lowered their outlook on global growth.

The World Bank expects the global economy to grow 2.9% in 2016, down from the forecast of 3.3% it made in June while IMF projected world economic growth at 3.4% in 2016 and 3.6% in 2017, down 0.2 percentage point for each year from the estimates given last October.

IMF slashed global growth forecasts thrice in less than a year. The agency even curtailed the growth rate of the lone star in the developed economies pack – the U.S. – to 2.6% for both 2016 and 2017, down 0.2 percentage point for each of the years from the October projection.
Consumer demand remained soft in the developed economies of U.S. and Japan while commodity market worries led to doubts over the sustainability of emerging markets. Per Reuters, if the world economy grows below 2.5% despite a growing population, it means that global recession is on the horizon.

Still there are a few global ETFs which might outperform their peers despite the broad-based gloom. Bulls can ride these ETFs as most of the developed economies are thriving on easy money and thus act as lucrative investment propositions. Even at home, the energetic discussion over four-Fed-hikes-in-2016 has taken a back seat after the soft Q4 GDP report.

There is a high chance that the Fed will not hike rates more than once this year given the upheaval in the global market. Plus, the possibility of a rate hike in March is increasingly on the low side (read: ETF Winners & Losers Post Fed Meet).

Though cheap money inflows fuel the case for risky investing, investors need to be selective while playing this field, given the heightened uncertainty.

How to Pick Right ETFs?

First, fundamentals need to be favorable, and then investors can look at our Zacks ETF Rank. This ranking system seeks to find the best funds in a given market segment based on a number fundamental and technical factors about them plus the Zacks forecast for the underlying industry or asset class (see: Our Zacks ETF Rank Guide).

Following this technique, we at Zacks revised our ETF ranks recently and found out that four global ETFs have been upgraded from #3 (Hold) #2 (Buy). These ETFs are widely spread out across each sector and security. These funds seek to offer solid exposure to global equity markets while at the same time eliminate company-specific risks. This is especially true given that these products hold a great deal of stocks and do not allocate a big chunk of assets to any particular security (see: all the World ETFs here):

iShares MSCI ACWI ETF (ACWI)

Investors seeking diversified exposure across the globe may find ACWI an intriguing choice. The fund follows the MSCI All Country World Index and holds 1298 securities with none of them making up for more than 1.62% of assets. Financials, information technology, consumer discretionary, healthcare and industrials all receive double-digit allocation.
 
In terms of country exposure, U.S. takes the top spot at 51.4% while other countries like Japan, United Kingdom, Switzerland and France make a nice mix in the fund’s basket, each with a single-digit exposure. The product has accumulated about $5.3 billion in its asset base. Expense ratio comes in at 0.32%. The ETF is off 6.8% so far this year (as of February 3, 2016).
 
SPDR MSCI ACWI IMI ETF (ACIM) 
This ETF is often overlooked by many investors due to its AUM of $33.84 million. The fund charges 25 bps in annual fees and expenses and tracks the MSCI ACWI IMI Index.
 
In total, the product holds 801 stocks with half of the portfolio going toward U.S. firms. Other countries receive single-digit allocations. Here again, financials occupies the top position with one-fifth share, closely followed by IT, consumer discretionary and industrials. From a security look, each firm holds less than 1.21% share in the basket. ACIM is down 7.6% so far this year.

FlexShares STOXX Global Broad Infrastructure ETF (NFRA)

This ETF could be appropriate for investors seeking a play on the booming infrastructural activities worldwide. This along with low levels of interest rates in the most developed region should propel this rate-sensitive sector (read: 3 Global ETFs for Yield & Growth).

NFRA looks to track the STOXX Global Broad Infrastructure Index. No stock accounts for more than 4.94% of the fund. The ETF presently holds 148 securities with total assets of $528.3 million. Close to half the portfolio is in the U.S. followed by 11.6% share grabbed by Japan, and 8.9% and 4.7% share taken by the U.K. and Canada, respectively.

The fund charges investors 47 basis points and has a yield of 2.50% annually (as of February 3, 2016). NFRA has lost just 0.5% so far this year (as of February 3, 2016), pretty decent compared with gigantic losses incurred by other securities.

SPDR MSCI World Quality Mix ETF (QWLD)

The fund looks to track the MSCI World Quality Mix Index to provide exposure to 24 developed economies focusing on matrices like value, low volatility and quality. This $5.7-million ETF comprises 1,027 stocks. Sector-wise, Financials, Health Care, IT and Consumers get maximum exposure.

Despite being a global equity ETF, the U.S. (61.9%) dominates the portfolio followed by Japan (8.84%), the U.K. (7.81%) and Switzerland (4.86%). It charges 30 bps in fees for this exposure. The fund is down 6.2% so far this year and yielded 2.37% as of February 3, 2016.