Market biases are deeply engrained, a reality often evidenced by the public's slow adoption of new investment ideas. Just as it took a decade of growth to finally convince investors to add gold to their portfolios, currency ETFs, introduced in late 2005, have attracted a comparatively tiny fraction of investment interest despite the dollar's continued multi-year decline.

Last week I wrote about the Indian rupee, which has recently touched a multi-month high amid growth prospects for the region and positive fund flows. Volume for the Dubai Gold and Commodities Exchange (DGCX) Indian rupee futures contract has hit new records, suggesting global interest is building.

Yet WisdomTree Dreyfus Indian Rupee (ICN), the largest ETF tracking the currency in the U.S., has attracted a mere $27 million dollars and barely trades 10,000 shares a day. No herd here.

Turns out that, despite the supposed clamor for alternative assets, there are still many people for whom the thought of putting the Indian rupee in their 401(k) sounds downright insane. For them and others new to foreign exchange, funds which hold a basket of currencies -- including the rupee -- are a less-focused way to achieve a similar exposure.

WisdomTree Asia Local Debt ETF (ALD) is the first fund focusing on Asian sovereign debt and the relative performance of Asian currencies against the U.S. dollar, most of which have been rising lately given the region's comparatively healthy balance sheet when compared to Europe or the U.S.

What's Inside: WisdomTree Asia Local Debt ETF (ALD):

Source Wisdomtree.com

The fund yields 1.75%, charges a 0.55% expense ratio and has appreciated roughly 3% over the past quarter.

Slightly less diverse is Barclays GEMS Asia-8 ETN (AYT), which essentially replicates a money-market fund of Asian currencies. Structured as an ETN, an unsecured credit obligation of Barclays, the fund offers equally weighted exposure to eight Asian currencies, including a 12.62% weighting to the Indian rupee compared to 5.58% for ALD.

What's Inside: Barclays GEMS Asia-8 ETN (AYT):

Source: Barclays Capital

Still notably illiquid, the note pays modest monthly dividends, charges a 0.89% expense ratio and is up 3% year-to-date. For those tracking the technicals, the fund is trading above its 200-day moving average, which now rests around $49.20.

And while a rise in the value of the U.S. dollar relative to Asian currencies will have a negative impact on these diversified options, it will be far less than holding an individual currency.

Jonathan Hoenig is managing member at Capitalistpig Hedge Fund LLC. At the time of writing, Hoenig's fund held positions in many of the securities mentioned.