EMM vs WCME

EMMCGlobal X Emerging Markets ex-China ETF

WCMEDFirst Trust WCM Developing World Equity ETF

In short

EMM Emerging markets with China cut out and no index to hide behind. Global X hands part of the stock picking to Mirae Asset's Hong Kong team, which runs a roughly 40-name book of would-be market leaders at a price below the active ex-China competition.

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

EMM The fund seeks long-term capital growth by actively selecting emerging-market companies outside China that may achieve or maintain dominant positions in their markets, with emphasis on early winners in growing industries.

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

• EMM 0.66% expense ratio undercuts the active ex-China field, including PEMX at 0.70% and WCME at 0.95%.
• Part of the stock picking sits with Mirae Asset Global Investments (Hong Kong), an Asia-based sub-adviser hunting early winners in growing industries.globalxetfs.com
• Portfolio matches the label: roughly 40 emerging-market names, China excluded, picked for dominant positions in their markets rather than index weight.globalxetfs.com
• Trading since 2010, with a real record behind it, and one of the stronger implementations among active ex-China peers.

• 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

• EMM A smaller fund that trades lightly. Wider spreads come with the territory, and order type matters more here than in a giant EM index fund.
• Roughly 40 active picks means results can drift well away from broad EM benchmarks, in either direction, and single names carry real weight.
• Built for growth, not income: distributions land once or twice a year, and China's market is off the menu by design.

• 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 EMM profile⁠

Full WCME profile⁠