Hedge funds may be getting pounded in most corners of the world -- suffering outflows and forced to trim fees to appease clients. But there’s one place they’re still turning a hefty profit: emerging markets. Leveraged funds focused on developing nations returned 14 percent in the first seven months of 2017, according to Hedge Fund Research Inc. That’s on track to be the best year since 2009, when they returned 20 percent on average. It’s more than triple the 3.7 percent return posted by the benchmark index of all hedge funds. Emerging markets are outperforming their developed-nation counterparts this year on...