AVEM vs MEMX

AVEMAAvantis Emerging Markets Equity ETF

MEMXDMatthews Emerging Markets ex China Active ETF MEMX

In short

AVEM Emerging markets taken whole: roughly 3,900 stocks, large down to small, with an active tilt toward cheaper and more profitable companies. Avantis charges about half the typical active EM fee to do it.

MEMX Most emerging-markets funds come with China baked in. MEMX takes it out by charter, putting at least 80% of assets in emerging-market stocks outside China and handing the picks to active managers at Asia specialist Matthews.

Stated mandate

AVEM Seeks long-term capital appreciation by investing in a broad range of companies across emerging-market countries and all market capitalizations.

MEMX The fund seeks its objective by investing at least 80% of net assets in common and preferred stocks of companies located in emerging-market countries other than China.

Why people hold it

• AVEM Fee is 0.33% a year against a 0.65% median for active emerging-markets funds, so the active tilt starts from a low-cost base.
• Owns roughly 3,900 names across the MSCI Emerging Markets IMI universe, including small caps, rather than a short stock-picker's list.avantisinvestors.com
• Active, but rules-driven: the portfolio leans toward lower valuations and higher profitability instead of relying on manager hunches.
• Running since 2019 and now a multi-billion-dollar, actively traded fund. One of the strongest implementations in its emerging-markets peer group.

• MEMX The China carve-out is written into the prospectus: at least 80% of net assets in common and preferred stocks of emerging-market companies outside China.
• Active by design. Managers choose the holdings rather than replicate the MSCI Emerging Markets ex China Index, which serves as the yardstick.
• Run by Matthews Asia, a boutique built around Asia and emerging markets, not a broad-lineup shop filling a hole in its menu. Launched in 2023.

Worth knowing

• AVEM Emerging-market equity is a bumpy asset class, and returns arrive in dollars, so local currency swings add a second layer of movement.
• The value and profitability tilts are the whole point, which means the fund is built to drift from a plain market-cap EM index, sometimes for long stretches.
• No China carve-out: this one takes the full EM opportunity set. Avantis runs AVXC on the same approach for those who want it without China.

• MEMX 0.79% a year sits above the roughly 0.65% median for active EM peers, and far above index-based ex-China options such as AVXC at 0.33%.
• Thinly traded and modest in size, so spreads and order type matter more here than in the category's largest funds.
• Leaving China out cuts both ways: returns can drift a long way from a standard emerging-markets fund in either direction.

Full AVEM profile⁠

Full MEMX profile⁠