AVES vs FEM

AVESAAvantis Emerging Markets Value ETF

FEMCFirst Trust Emerging Markets AlphaDEX Fund

In short

AVES Avantis starts with the emerging markets universe and tilts it: cheap valuations, profitable companies, roughly 1,800 names from megacaps down to small caps. Broad EM exposure with a deliberate value-and-quality slant, priced under the typical multifactor rival.

FEM A 2011-vintage take on emerging markets that skips cap-weighting: it ranks stocks on growth and value factors, keeps the top scorers, and weights them in tiers, so the megacap giants don't run the portfolio. The fee sits at the high end.

Stated mandate

AVES The fund seeks long-term capital appreciation.

FEM The fund seeks results that generally correspond, before fees and expenses, to the price and yield of the Nasdaq AlphaDEX Emerging Markets Index. It normally invests at least 90% of net assets in index securities and uses indexing to replicate the index.

Why people hold it

• AVES Charges 0.36% a year, below the 0.48% median for emerging markets multifactor funds. EM is where fee gaps usually run widest.
• Two screens, not one: it tilts toward cheap valuations and toward high profitability, so the deep-value bucket gets a quality filter on the way in.avantisinvestors.com
• Roughly 1,800 holdings across the MSCI Emerging Markets IMI Value opportunity set, meaning small caps ride along rather than getting screened out.
• Portfolio build sits in the top quartile of its EM multifactor peer group in our review, and the fund is a multi-billion-dollar, regularly traded name.

• FEM Ranks emerging-market stocks on growth and value factors, then weights the survivors in tiers, so the strongest scorers carry more weight than size alone would give them.nasdaqomx.com
• Holds roughly 160 names under tiered equal weighting, leaving more room for mid-size and smaller companies than a cap-weighted EM benchmark.nasdaqomx.com
• Running since 2011 through several EM cycles, with at least 90% of net assets in index securities and cash paid out quarterly.
• A few hundred million in assets and moderate volume: no giant, but an established fund rather than a launch-stage one.

Worth knowing

• AVES Value in emerging markets means leaning into cheaper, cyclical corners of the market, plus currency swings. A bumpier ride than a plain broad EM index.
• Cost is not the floor here: peer EMGF runs a multifactor EM portfolio for 0.26%, ten basis points less.
• Launched in 2021, so its live record is shorter than the older EM factor funds it lines up against.

• FEM At 0.80% a year it costs well above the median fee in its multifactor EM group, where cheaper builds exist (EMGF at 0.26%, AVES at 0.36%).
• The factor screen and tiered weights can push results well away from headline cap-weighted EM indexes, in either direction.nasdaqomx.com
• Country and sector weights fall out of the ranking rules, so nobody is steering exposure toward or away from a given market.nasdaqomx.com

Full AVES profile⁠

Full FEM profile⁠