First Trust Emerging Markets Small Cap AlphaDEX Fund
$46.02−0.70 (−1.49%)
- 0.80%
- $233M
- +15.8%
- 3.85%
- 0M sh
- $47.60
- low $40.94high $49.49
The ETF.net FEMS Grade
D
Score 34 out of 100
- 17 of 20
Score 34 of 100 falls in the D 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.F3 out of 100Rank 19 of 20Mission
Whether the fund did what it promised, tested against its stated mandate.Risk
How the fund held up when markets fell: downside volatility, drawdowns and tail loss.D35 out of 100Rank 18 of 19Tradability
How easy the fund is to trade: daily volume, and how far its price strays from net asset value.B67 out of 100Rank 5 of 20Holdings
How concentrated the fund is, and how complete and current its disclosed holdings are.B64 out of 100Rank 8 of 20Durability
Whether the fund is likely to stay open, judged by its age, its assets and its issuer’s assets.B66 out of 100Rank 5 of 20
Our read on FEMS
DEmerging market small caps, chosen by First Trust's AlphaDEX growth-and-value rules instead of ranked by size. A narrow, off-the-beaten-path slice of EM that has been running since 2012.
The Fund seeks to track, before fees and expenses, the price and yield performance of the Nasdaq AlphaDEX® Emerging Markets Small CapTM Index.
Why people hold it
- Goes small in emerging markets: roughly 220 stocks, so no single name or state champion carries the fund.
- AlphaDEX picks and weights by growth and value rank, not market cap, so the biggest company in the index isn't automatically the biggest position.ftportfolios.com
- Live since 2012, with the same rules-based index mandate through multiple EM cycles. Pays quarterly.
- Holdings are spread widely enough that the portfolio reads as a genuine small-cap basket rather than a handful of bets.
Worth knowing
- Cost is the sore spot: 0.80% a year, well above EM factor peers such as EMGF (0.26%) and AVES (0.36%). That gap compounds against you.
- Thinly traded. Spreads can widen, and large orders can move the price more than in the big EM funds.
- Small caps plus emerging markets is a bumpy combination, and this has been among the more volatile funds in its peer group.
FEMS Holdings
- Stocks
- 203
- 18%
- 6213.TW
Sectors
- Industrials19.7%
- Technology18.5%
- Consumer Discretionary11.1%
- Materials9.5%
- Energy8.8%
- Consumer Staples7.8%
- Real Estate7.4%
- Utilities5.5%
- Financials4.7%
- Health Care3.6%
- Communication3.3%
Geography
- Taiwan26.84%
- Brazil15.79%
- Turkey14.77%
- Thailand9.24%
- China8.42%
- Indonesia6.74%
- South Africa5.64%
- Mexico3.25%
- 9.32%
Developed 1% · Emerging 99%
FEMS Performance
Shows how $10,000 changes over the selected period, with cash distributions reinvested at the closing price on each ex-dividend date.
FEMS$11,577
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 | FEMS |
|---|---|
| Year to date | +13.8% |
| 1 month | +2.0% |
| 3 months | +1.4% |
| 1 year | +15.8% |
| 3 years | +11.9% |
| 5 years | +6.8% |
| 10 years | +8.3% |
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 | FEMS |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 YTD | +13.8% | |
| 2025 | +16.5% | |
| 2024 | +1.9% | |
| 2023 | +3.5% | |
| 2022 | +1.9% | |
| 2021 | +3.7% | |
| 2020 | +7.8% |
FEMS in the news
FEMS Dividends
- 3.85%
- $1.80
- $0.40 per share
- Quarterly
Distribution history
FEMS Risk
- 13.6%
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.
- 0.36
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.
- −21.2%
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.
- 0.61
How it’s calculated: beta
The beta figure is supplied by FMP. The comparison index depends on the fund’s broad asset class.
FEMS Cost
0.80%
FEMS0.80%
- The middle half of Emerging Markets Multifactor funds
- Median 0.47%
18 of the 20 Emerging Markets Multifactor funds charge less.
Other funds in Emerging Markets Multifactor
- DECONColumbia Research Enhanced Emerging Economies ETFExpense ratio 0.49%1 year return +35.9%
- DFEMFirst Trust Emerging Markets AlphaDEX FundExpense ratio 0.80%1 year return +31.0%
- DGEMGoldman Sachs ActiveBeta Emerging Markets Equity ETFExpense ratio 0.59%1 year return +30.1%
- DTLTENorthern Trust Morningstar Emerging Markets Factor Tilt ETFExpense ratio 0.58%1 year return +28.1%
- DFTHFFirst Trust Emerging Markets Human Flourishing ETFExpense ratio 0.75%1 year return +73.0%