Investing in American Depository Receipts (ADRs) is one of the best ways to get foreign markets exposure. The transaction costs of purchasing ADRs are usually much lower than those of buying through local exchanges as there are no costs of converting U.S. dollars to the stocks local currency. We believe that by investing in ADRs, investors will achieve a more diversified portfolio, protecting themselves from dollar inflation and benefit from the higher growth rates in foreign markets. Additionally, during the recent market turmoil, we encourage investors to play defensively by purchasing stocks with high dividend yields, which can also protect investors from potential inflation.

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Here are the top 10 dividend ADRs with highest YTD returns.

Chunghwa Telecom Co. Ltd.. C hunghwa is a telecommunications service provider in Taiwan. CHT has a dividend yield of 5.78% and an EPS growth rate of 14.31% per year during the past five years. It has a market cap of $31.8B and a P/E ratio of 18.18. It returned 37.20% since the beginning of this year. Jim Simons had $22 million invested in CHT shares ( check out Simons top stock picks ).

British American Tobacco. British American Tobacco is the world’s most international tobacco group. BTI has a dividend yield of 4.54% and an EPS growth rate of 11.53% per year during the past five years. It has a market cap of $84.9B and a P/E ratio of 16.83. It returned 15.89% since the beginning of this year. Tom Russo had $179 million invested in BTI shares.

China Mobile Limited. China Mobile Limited provides a range of mobile telecommunications services. CHL has a dividend yield of 4.08% and an EPS growth rate of 17.07% per year during the past five years. It has a market cap of $201B and a P/E ratio of 10.53. It returned 5.15% since the beginning of this year. John Kleinheinz had $44 million invested in CHL stocks.

Sanofi-Aventis. Sanofi is a global and diversified healthcare company. SNY has a dividend yield of 5.66% and an EPS growth rate of 20.04% per year during the past five years. It has a market cap of $86.9B and a P/E ratio of 14.32. It returned 4.78% since the beginning of this year. Ken Fisher had nearly $600 million invested in SNY shares. Warren Buffett also invested $163 million in the stock ( check out Buffetts top stock picks ).

AstraZeneca plc. AstraZeneca is a global biopharmaceutical company. AZN has a dividend yield of 6.16% and an EPS growth rate of 13.87% per year during the past five years. It has a market cap of $58.6B and a P/E ratio of 7.65. It returned 0.48% since the beginning of this year. Jim Simons had $28 million invested in AZN shares.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing is engaged in the research, development, manufacture and distribution of integrated circuit related products. TSM has a dividend yield of 4.35% and an EPS growth rate of 17.38% per year during the past five years. It has a market cap of $61.8B and a P/E ratio of 11.46. It lost 0.91% since the beginning of this year. Ken Fisher and Jim Simons both invested over $75 million in TSM ( check out Fishers top stock picks ).

Novartis AG. Novartis provides healthcare solutions. NVS has a dividend yield of 4.30% and an EPS growth rate of 11.18% per year during the past five years. It has a market cap of $126B and a P/E ratio of 12.96. It lost 2.83% since the beginning of this year. Jim Simons invested $125 million in NVS shares. Ken Fisher is another main holder of NVS stocks.

Banco de Chile. Banco de Chile is a full-service financial institution. BCH has a dividend yield of 4.69% and an EPS growth rate of 12.87% per year during the past five years. It has a market cap of $11.1B and a P/E ratio of 11.64. It lost 9.72% since the beginning of this year.

Prudential plc. Prudential is an international financial services group. PUK has a dividend yield of 4.58% and an EPS growth rate of 13.88% per year during the past five years. It has a market cap of $22.9B and a P/E ratio of 7.81. It lost 10.64% since the beginning of this year.

Empresa Nacional de Electricidad. Endesa Chile is Chile-based company primarily engaged in the generation and distribution of electric energy. EOC has a dividend yield of 4.45% and an EPS growth rate of 39.12% per year during the past five years. It has a market cap of $12.6B and a P/E ratio of 11.27. It lost 15.08% since the beginning of this year.

Disclosure: I have no positions in any stocks mentioned, and no plans to initiate any positions within the next 72 hours.