From Kazakhstan to Korea, lead manager Chris Alderson of the T. Rowe Price Emerging Markets Stock fund is not afraid to go anywhere in search of a promising growth stock. Anywhere, that is, as long as he and his three co-managers are comfortable with the country's economic outlook - something they monitor constantly. Right now, for example, Alderson is particularly bullish on India and Taiwan, but finds Hungary unappealing.

The team's 133-stock portfolio is loaded with big names such as America Movil of Mexico, along with some less recognizable companies such as Bharti Televentures of India and Naspers of South Africa, a pay-TV and Internet service provider for most of the African continent. Alderson expects Naspers to grow at 25 percent to 30 percent a year, but the stock, he says, trades for just 13 times his projected earnings for 2007.

Alderson's fund has done particularly well as emerging markets have rallied over the past three years, soaring an average of almost 33 percent annually. Adding to the fund's appeal is a relatively low 1.27 percent expense ratio - "just about the best deal retail investors can get in this category," a Morningstar analyst wrote recently.

To identify the best funds, we screened for high total returns as well as investor, or dollar-weighted, returns. Investor returns factor in money flows to better calculate results for an average shareholder. These seven funds stood out.