How broad of a following can a country-specific ETF garner? BGI's new EPU is about to get a $300 million shot in the arm.

How broad-based of an audience can an exchange-traded fund focused solely on companies based in Peru attract?

Since launching a little more than a month ago, the seemingly narrow-focused iShares MSCI All Peru Capped Index Fund (NYSEArca: EPU) has seen its assets top $33 million. That’s actually down a bit from a week ago when that number surpassed $35 million. (See related story here.)

So what’s driving such growth? Performance is one factor. In the past month, EPU’s returns have shot up by nearly 4 percentage points. More significantly to longer-term investors, the country has produced the best gross domestic product growth rate in the region—or near the top, depending on periods studied and data used—for more than a decade now.

And even more assets figure to start flowing

The race to Peru has been won by iShares, as it launches an ETF focused on that part of the world.

With a global start-up preparing to launch the first exchange-traded fund focused on Peru in coming weeks, industry giant Barclays Global Investors has sneaked to the finish line.

On Monday, the soon-to-be BlackRock Global Investors opened the iShares MSCI All Peru Capped Index (NYSE Arca: EPU). It follows an earlier announcement by fledgling Global X Management Co. of a similar ETF. But that fund hasn't come out yet, although it's expected to launch soon.

According to a BGI statement, Peru is Latin America's fastest-growing economy, with a gross domestic product growth rate of more than 9% last year. The firm added that in May, emerging markets net inflow of $14.9 billion into ETFs included some $6 billion from ETF investors.

“With the fastest growing economy in Latin America and one of