First Trust Emerging Markets Local Currency Bond ETF
$28.94+0.06 (+0.21%)
- 0.85%
- $384M
- +5.7%
- 6.63%
- 0.1M sh
- $28.85
- low $28.13high $31.55
The ETF.net FEMB Grade
C
Score 45 out of 100
- 5 of 7
Score 45 of 100 falls in the C band. A is 70 or higher, B 55 to under 70, C 40 to under 55, D 25 to under 40, F under 25.
Cost
The fund’s net expense ratio, ranked against its category.F21 out of 100Rank 6 of 7Mission
Whether the fund did what it promised, tested against its stated mandate.A80 out of 100Rank 4 of 7Risk
How the fund held up when markets fell: downside volatility, drawdowns and tail loss.D31 out of 100Rank 6 of 7Tradability
How easy the fund is to trade: daily volume, and how far its price strays from net asset value.C48 out of 100Rank 5 of 7Holdings
How concentrated the fund is, and how complete and current its disclosed holdings are.C42 out of 100Rank 6 of 7Durability
Whether the fund is likely to stay open, judged by its age, its assets and its issuer’s assets.B66 out of 100Rank 3 of 7
Our read on FEMB
CEmerging-market debt bought in the borrower's own money, not dollars, and picked by a manager rather than an index. At least 80% of assets sit in local-currency bonds, so the currency move counts alongside the coupon. Pays monthly.
The Fund seeks maximum total return and current income.
Why people hold it
- Actively managed, so the team chooses which countries, curves and currencies to own instead of inheriting an index weighting. First Trust has run it this way since 2014.ftportfolios.com
- The mandate is specific: at least 80% of assets in bonds, notes and bills from emerging-market issuers, denominated in the issuer's local currency. The FX exposure is the point, not a side effect.ftportfolios.com
- Stated goal is maximum total return and current income, and the fund distributes monthly rather than quarterly.
- For a corner of the market this specialized, it holds up on the plumbing: hundreds of millions in assets and steady day-to-day trading.
Worth knowing
- At 0.85% a year, it sits well above what a typical emerging-market ETF charges. Active management in local-currency debt is the reason, but the fee is a real headwind on income.
- Currency cuts both ways here. Local-currency bonds mean dollar strength can offset coupon income and dollar weakness can add to returns. Nothing is hedged away.ftportfolios.com
- Concentrated book of roughly 60 bonds, so individual country and currency calls carry weight, and there is no published index to measure the manager against.
FEMB Holdings
- Bonds
- 65
- 39%
- THAILAND GOVERNMENT BOND N/C, 3.39%, due 06/17/2037
FEMB Performance
Shows how $10,000 changes over the selected period, with cash distributions reinvested at the closing price on each ex-dividend date.
FEMB$10,573
Returns run to the Oct 12, 2026 close, with cash distributions reinvested. Each period starts on the same date that many months or years earlier. Periods over one year show the average yearly return.
| Period | FEMB |
|---|---|
| Year to date | +1.9% |
| 1 month | −1.7% |
| 3 months | −0.4% |
| 1 year | +5.7% |
| 3 years | +8.9% |
| 5 years | +3.7% |
| 10 years | +1.9% |
Calendar-year total return with cash distributions hypothetically reinvested at the ex-dividend date’s closing price. The current year shows year to date.
| Year | Return bar | FEMB |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 YTD | +1.9% | |
| 2025 | +21.8% | |
| 2024 | −5.6% | |
| 2023 | +17.1% | |
| 2022 | −10.5% | |
| 2021 | −13.4% | |
| 2020 | +3.1% |
FEMB in the news
FEMB Dividends
- 6.63%
- $1.92
- $0.20 per share
- Monthly
Distribution history
FEMB Risk
- 9.0%
How it’s calculated: standard deviation
The sample standard deviation of monthly total returns, multiplied by the square root of 12.
Uses up to 36 complete months, with at least 12 required. Total returns include reinvested distributions.
- 0.41
How it’s calculated: Sharpe ratio
Subtract each month’s Treasury-bill return from the fund’s monthly total return.
Divide the average of those excess returns by their sample standard deviation, then multiply by the square root of 12.
Uses up to 36 complete months, with at least 12 required. Each month uses the Treasury yield quoted at the end of the previous month.
- −21.8%
How it’s calculated: maximum drawdown
The largest percentage decline from an earlier peak, using total returns with reinvested distributions.
Uses up to five years through the last close, with at least 12 months required.
- 1.27
How it’s calculated: beta
The beta figure is supplied by FMP. The comparison index depends on the fund’s broad asset class.
FEMB Cost
0.85%
FEMB0.85%
- The middle half of Emerging Markets Bonds (Local Currency) funds
- Median 0.55%
5 of the 7 Emerging Markets Bonds (Local Currency) funds charge less.
Other funds in Emerging Markets Bonds (Local Currency)
- ALEMBiShares J.P. Morgan EM Local Currency Bond ETFExpense ratio 0.30%1 year return +6.1%
- BEMBXVanEck Emerging Markets Bond ETFExpense ratio 0.65%1 year return +6.2%
- CELDWisdomTree Emerging Markets Local Debt FundExpense ratio 0.55%1 year return +4.5%
- DCBONVanEck China Bond ETFExpense ratio 0.50%1 year return +9.6%
- DGAEMSimplify Gamma Emerging Market Bond ETFExpense ratio 0.96%1 year return +4.7%