Foreign stocks simply can’t be ignored. Thirty years ago, U.S. markets accounted for about 70% of the world’s stock market capitalization. That figure has fallen to about 40% today and is likely to keep falling with the rise of Brazil, India, China and others.

Investing in only the U.S. has become akin to going to a supermarket and shopping in only half the aisles. And if you’re an income investor the situation becomes even more dire when you consider that many of the world’s highest-yielding stocks trade abroad.

But thanks to the rise of exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and closed-end funds (CEFs), gaining foreign exposure — and the high yields that come along with it — is as easy as buying a common stock on the New York Stock Exchange. Thanks to these funds, today’s investor has easy access to some of the best income opportunities around the globe.

Higher Yields Overseas
You may be surprised to learn just how low-yielding the U.S. markets are compared to their international counterparts. In fact, the average dividend yield of companies in the S&P 500 is a paltry 2.1%. Compare that to many other developed foreign countries. New Zealand averages a 5.1% yield… investors see 4.6% in Spain… 3.5% in the U.K… the list goes on.

For years investors ignored this disparity — investing abroad seemed complicated, expensive and geared only toward the professionals. But with the rise of ETFs and closed-end funds, the barriers are falling.

Easy Access Through Funds
You don’t need to open an offshore account to capture these higher yields overseas. It’s not necessary to buy securities on foreign exchanges. All you need to do is buy one of the hundreds of international ETFs/CEFs offered on U.S. exchanges.

Today you can find funds with a focus on anything from gaming stocks to foreign small-caps to entire market indices — and everything in between.

And these funds can be purchased through any full-service or discount brokerage account. They can be bought or sold any day at any time the markets are open, just like a stock. Best of all, the commissions are the exact same as if you bought shares of Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO).

With each fund share, you’ll own a small piece of every stock the fund owns. Funds invest in dozens and sometimes hundreds of foreign issues that are often spread across different countries and geographic regions. But you can also buy into funds focused on one small niche of the market, such as China, India or Russia.

Perhaps most important is the professional management that comes along with some funds. While ETFs usually don’t change their holdings much and passively track an index, closed-end funds have entire staffs whose job it is track down attractive investments.

Do you know which promising Chinese corporations offer high yields on debt or which European utilities are undervalued? Many funds employ a staff of professionals that have the resources and expertise to sniff out the best opportunities in foreign lands. And all of this for only a small fee (usually less than 0.75% annually).

But the real draw for income investors are the paychecks…

Get Paid Monthly
Right now I count 274 funds that focus on the international markets and have yields above 6%. And I’ve found a total of 99 yielding above 10%.

I’ve even found a few of these international funds yielding upwards of 15%!

This goes to show just how great of an opportunity international income investors have with funds. But it gets even better…

Historically, many international companies make payments only twice a year. Here in the U.S., income investors expect at least quarterly paychecks — and many prefer to be paid monthly. ETFs and CEFs are happy to oblige. In fact, more than half of these dividend paying ETFs pay quarterly. And nearly 10% of these cash-cows pay you each month!

It’s easy to see why income investors have been flocking to international funds to get their fix. When you can capture the higher yields offered overseas while getting paid monthly, the choice is a no-brainer!

P.S. My colleague Nathan Slaughter keeps a dedicated portfolio of high-income funds in his ETF Authority newsletter. Right now he’s got nine open recommendations — and six of them pay monthly. Act today and you can lock in yields as high as 8.2%, 8.4%, 9.1%, and even 10.9% from these monthly payers. See how to get started here.

P.P.S. As an added bonus, Nathan’s “high-income” picks are delivering heady capital gains too: The total average return for the nine-fund portfolio is +45.1%! What’s not to like about reliable high income and market-crushing capital gains? See how to get started here.