CGNG vs WCME

CGNGACapital Group New Geography Equity ETF

WCMEDFirst Trust WCM Developing World Equity ETF

In short

CGNG Most emerging-markets funds sort companies by headquarters address. CGNG sorts by where the money is made, so a developed-country firm earning heavily in developing economies can qualify. Capital Group runs it actively against the MSCI EM benchmark.

WCME Emerging markets with conviction: roughly 30 stocks hand-picked by boutique manager WCM, with frontier names in bounds. Built to look nothing like a broad developing-world index fund.

Stated mandate

CGNG The fund seeks long-term capital appreciation by investing primarily in common stocks of companies with significant exposure to developing economies or markets, including companies domiciled in developed countries when a significant share of their assets or revenues is attributable to developing countries.

WCME The Fund seeks long-term capital appreciation. It normally invests at least 80% of its net assets in equity securities of companies located in developing countries, using WCM’s bottom-up fundamental research process.

Why people hold it

• CGNG The mandate counts companies domiciled in developed countries when a significant share of their assets or revenues comes from developing ones. A revenue map, not a passport check.capitalgroup.com
• Actively managed by Capital Group, holding roughly 220 stocks and measured against the MSCI Emerging Markets Index rather than tracking it.
• Easy to deal in for an active EM strategy: a multi-billion-dollar fund that trades actively, which tends to keep entry and exit costs modest.
• Sits in the top quartile of the active emerging-markets ETFs we grade, one of the stronger overall builds in a crowded field.

• WCME Genuinely active: about 30 holdings chosen by bottom-up fundamental research, not index weights. Real concentration, not closet indexing with a higher fee.
• Wide mandate: at least 80% of net assets in developing-country equities, with frontier markets inside the lines and no market-cap box.sec.gov
• Full opportunity set. Peers like EMM and PEMX screen China out by rule; here China exposure is a stock-by-stock decision the manager makes.
• The 0.95% expense ratio sits right at the median for its active emerging-markets peer group: the going rate for stock-picking, not a surcharge.

Worth knowing

• CGNG 0.64% a year is right at the middle for active EM funds, but systematic rivals such as AVEM, JEMA and AVXC charge 0.33%.
• Launched in 2024, so the record is short and has not been tested across a full emerging-markets cycle.
• Because eligibility follows revenue, the country mix can look quite different from a standard EM index, including names based in developed markets.

• WCME Cheaper active EM options exist. EMM charges 0.66% and PEMX 0.70% against this fund's 0.95%, and fees compound whatever the market does.
• Small and thinly traded, so bid-ask spreads tend to be wider than a mega-fund's and sizeable orders need more care at the open and close.
• Concentration cuts both ways: with about 30 developing and frontier holdings, single stocks and single countries move it more than a broad tracker. It launched in 2020, so the record is short.

Full CGNG profile⁠

Full WCME profile⁠