VEXC vs XCEM

VEXCAVanguard Emerging Markets Ex-China ETF

XCEMAColumbia EM Core ex-China ETF

In short

VEXC Vanguard's emerging markets, China removed. Same index-tracking discipline, 0.07% a year, a fraction of what the typical EM fund charges. Ex-China is no longer a niche idea; this is the cheap way to own it.

XCEM The original ex-China emerging markets fund. Columbia launched XCEM in 2015, back when carving China out of an EM sleeve was a fringe idea rather than a crowded shelf. Roughly 150 EM stocks, no China, 0.16% a year.

Stated mandate

VEXC The fund invests in emerging-market stocks while excluding China and seeks to closely track the FTSE Emerging ex China Index.

XCEM The fund seeks investment results that correspond to the performance of the EGAI Emerging Markets ex-China Index before fees and expenses. It generally invests at least 80% of net assets in index companies and seeks to replicate the index.

Why people hold it

• VEXC Charges 0.07% a year against a 0.49% median for emerging-markets funds, and undercuts the other top-graded names in the group, including XCEM at 0.16% and BKEM at 0.11%.
• Rules-based, not opinion-based: it tracks the FTSE Emerging ex China Index, so the China carve-out is written into the mandate rather than left to a manager's discretion.vanguard.com
• Splitting China out of emerging markets puts the sizing decision in your hands instead of accepting whatever weight a broad EM index assigns. Pays quarterly.vanguard.com
• Ranks among the strongest implementations in its emerging-markets peer group on the things we measure: cost, mandate clarity, index discipline.

• XCEM Launched in 2015 as the first broad emerging markets ETF built to leave China out, and it has since grown into a billion-dollar-plus fund.morningstar.com
• 0.16% a year, well under the typical fund in its emerging markets cohort, for a portfolio of about 150 stocks.
• Plain mandate, closely followed: at least 80% of net assets in index companies, replicated rather than approximated, with tracking that has stayed tight.
• One of the strongest implementations in its emerging markets peer group, and liquid enough that getting in and out is rarely the hard part.

Worth knowing

• VEXC Launched in 2025 and still thinly traded, so it lacks the trading heft of the giant EM funds. Spreads can be wider than the Vanguard name suggests.
• Excluding an entire country by rule means results will drift away from broad EM funds, in both directions, depending on how China does.
• The remaining basket screens more concentrated than most funds in the category, so a handful of countries and sectors drive much of the outcome.

• XCEM No China means no Tencent, no Alibaba, no A-shares. If that exposure belongs in the portfolio, it has to come from somewhere else.
• Emerging market stocks swing hard and currency moves add to the ride. This is one of the higher-volatility corners of equity investing.
• Cheap, not cheapest: VEXC runs the same ex-China EM idea at 0.07%. XCEM's edge is a decade of history, not the lowest fee on the shelf.

Full VEXC profile⁠

Full XCEM profile⁠