Category Review
Municipal bond funds are down for the year after a third-quarter selloff erased the first-half gain
Goldman Sachs ActiveBeta Emerging Markets Equity ETF
$50.26−0.24 (−0.48%)
- 0.59%
- $1.8B
- +30.1%
- 1.90%
- 0.1M sh
- $51.06
- low $40.13high $54.29
The ETF.net GEM Grade
D
Score 37 out of 100
- 16 of 20
Score 37 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.F18 out of 100Rank 16 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.C47 out of 100Rank 11 of 19Tradability
How easy the fund is to trade: daily volume, and how far its price strays from net asset value.B56 out of 100Rank 8 of 20Holdings
How concentrated the fund is, and how complete and current its disclosed holdings are.D31 out of 100Rank 18 of 20Durability
Whether the fund is likely to stay open, judged by its age, its assets and its issuer’s assets.A75 out of 100Rank 3 of 20
Our read on GEM
DGoldman's ActiveBeta recipe on emerging markets: roughly 800 stocks scored on value, momentum, quality and low volatility, then reweighted. Broad enough to look like the market, tilted enough not to be it.
The Fund seeks to closely track, before fees and expenses, the Goldman Sachs ActiveBeta® Emerging Markets Equity Index, which provides exposure to equity securities of emerging-market issuers.
Why people hold it
- Four tilts, not one bet. Every stock is scored on value, momentum, quality and low volatility, so no single style steers the whole portfolio.gsam.com
- About 800 holdings across emerging markets. You get the factor tilt without shrinking down to a narrow sleeve of names.
- Running since 2015 and now a multi-billion-dollar fund with steady day-to-day trading behind it.
Worth knowing
- At 0.59% a year, it charges above the multifactor EM median. EMGF (0.26%) and QEMM (0.30%) run broad factor books for less.
- Tilted by design, so it drifts from plain cap-weighted emerging markets. Expect stretches on both sides of the benchmark.
- Distributions land once or twice a year, not monthly. Lumpy timing if you lean on fund income.
GEM Holdings
- Stocks
- 737
- 40%
- 2330.TW
Sectors
- Technology43.7%
- Financials20.6%
- Consumer Discretionary7.5%
- Communication6.2%
- Materials5.2%
- Industrials5.0%
- Health Care3.3%
- Energy3.1%
- Consumer Staples2.9%
- Utilities1.8%
- Real Estate0.9%
Geography
- Taiwan28.25%
- South Korea20.27%
- China18.18%
- India10.32%
- Brazil4.58%
- South Africa2.78%
- Hong Kong1.73%
- Mexico1.63%
- 12.25%
Developed 3% · Emerging 97%
GEM Performance
Shows how $10,000 changes over the selected period, with cash distributions reinvested at the closing price on each ex-dividend date.
GEM$13,009
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 | GEM |
|---|---|
| Year to date | +21.3% |
| 1 month | −2.6% |
| 3 months | −1.1% |
| 1 year | +30.1% |
| 3 years | +22.9% |
| 5 years | +8.8% |
| 10 years | +8.5% |
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 | GEM |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 YTD | +21.3% | |
| 2025 | +33.4% | |
| 2024 | +6.7% | |
| 2023 | +11.8% | |
| 2022 | −21.3% | |
| 2021 | −0.2% | |
| 2020 | +13.2% |
GEM in the news
GEM Dividends
- 1.90%
- $0.96
- $0.96 per share
- Annual
Distribution history
GEM Risk
- 14.6%
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.
- 1.22
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.
- −31.4%
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.
- 1.10
How it’s calculated: beta
The beta figure is supplied by FMP. The comparison index depends on the fund’s broad asset class.
GEM Cost
0.59%
GEM0.59%
- The middle half of Emerging Markets Multifactor funds
- Median 0.47%
16 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%
- DFEMSFirst Trust Emerging Markets Small Cap AlphaDEX FundExpense ratio 0.80%1 year return +15.8%
- 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%