FDEM vs QEMM

FDEMAFidelity Emerging Markets Multifactor ETF

QEMMBState Street SPDR MSCI Emerging Markets StrategicFactors ETF

In short

FDEM Value, quality, momentum and low-volatility screens run across emerging markets stocks, plus an unusual extra filter: a tilt toward names less correlated with US equities. Fidelity's in-house index, priced under the category median.

QEMM Instead of betting on one factor, QEMM buys value, quality and low volatility across emerging markets at once, packing roughly 800 stocks into a single MSCI factor-blend index for 0.30% a year.

Stated mandate

FDEM The fund seeks to track, before fees and expenses, the Fidelity Emerging Markets Multifactor Index.

QEMM The fund seeks to track the MSCI Emerging Markets (EM) Factor Mix A-Series Index.

Why people hold it

• FDEM Four factor screens (value, quality, momentum, lower volatility) and then a twist most multifactor rivals skip: the index also leans toward stocks with lower correlation to the US market.sec.gov
• At 0.25% a year, it undercuts the typical fund in the international multifactor group, where the median sits at 0.38%.
• Rules over hunches: normally at least 80% of assets sit in index securities, so the screens drive the portfolio. Live since 2019, with distributions paid quarterly.sec.gov

• QEMM One ticket, three tilts: the MSCI EM Factor Mix A-Series Index blends value, quality and low volatility, so no single style has to be in favor for the strategy to run as designed.ssga.com
• At 0.30% a year it undercuts the typical fee in the multifactor emerging-markets crowd, and the portfolio is built by index rules rather than a manager's hunch.
• Running since 2014 with roughly 800 holdings and State Street behind the wrapper: a long-lived option in a corner of the market where niche products often quietly close.
• The low-volatility sleeve is the tell. This is emerging-markets exposure assembled to smooth the ride, not to chase the hottest single factor.ssga.com

Worth knowing

• FDEM Selective by design: a couple hundred large- and mid-cap names, not the full emerging markets universe, so results diverge from plain market-cap EM index funds.sec.gov
• Emerging markets carry currency, political and regulatory risk. A low-volatility screen aims to soften the ride relative to the broad EM market, not to remove the risk.sec.gov
• Volume is moderate rather than heavy for the category, so spreads deserve a look on larger orders. The developed-market sibling FDEV runs cheaper at 0.18%.

• QEMM Trades thinner than the category's household names, so spreads can be wider. That bites most on large or hurried orders.
• Splitting the bet three ways dilutes each factor by design, so the portfolio rarely looks or moves like a plain-vanilla emerging-markets index.
• Distributions land once or twice a year rather than quarterly, and peers such as EMGF carry a lower fee for multifactor EM exposure.

Full FDEM profile⁠

Full QEMM profile⁠