Emerging markets are the underlying investment area to which people looking for protected investments are most eager to gain exposure, according to Barclays Wealth.

Research from Barclays found that emerging markets won a 17.3% share of protected-investment buyers’ overall vote for areas , with the more established areas of Europe (16%), UK equities (14.1%) and property (16.6%) falling close behind.

Colin Dickie, director at Barclays Wealth, said: “Emerging markets is clearly a key area for protected-investment buyers and came out significantly ahead of a number of more mainstream investment options. This suggests investors want exposure to the high returns emerging markets has the potential to deliver but remain wary of the area’s volatility and diversity.”