ETF Evaluator: abrdn Emerging Markets Dividend Act ETF () Follow This ETF

abrdn Emerging Markets Dividend Act ETF Overview

abrdn Emerging Markets Dividend Act ETF (AGEM) is an actively managed International Equity Diversified Emerging Mkts exchange-traded fund (ETF). abrdn Funds launched the ETF in 1999.

The investment seeks total return consisting of income and long-term capital appreciation. Under normal circumstances, the fund invests at least 80% of the value of its net assets, plus any borrowings for investment purposes, in equity securities of emerging market companies that pay dividend income. The fund will invest primarily in common stocks but may also invest in other types of equity securities, including, but not limited to, preferred stock and depositary receipts.

About abrdn Emerging Markets Dividend Act ETF (AGEM)

There are 3 members of the management team with an average tenure of 2.42 years: Gabriel Sacks (2024), Awais Khan (2024) and Matt Williams (2024). Management tenure is more important for actively managed ETFs than passive index ETFs.

The ETF has 1 primary benchmark: MSCI EM NR USD index with a weighting of 100%. abrdn Emerging Markets Dividend Act ETF has 94 securities in its portfolio. The top 10 holdings constitute 46.4% of the ETF’s assets. The ETF meets the SEC requirement of being classified as a diversified fund. The ETF is not considered to have an ESG focus with its investment selection and management.

abrdn Emerging Markets Dividend Act ETF is part of the Equity global asset class and is within the International Equity ETF group. abrdn Emerging Markets Dividend Act ETF has 98.9% of its portfolio invested in foreign issues. The overall assets allocated to domestic stock is 0.0% There is 98.9% allocated to foreign stock, and 0.0% is allocated to preferred stocks. The bond allocation as a percentage of total assets is 0.0% (0.0% domestic bond, 0.0% foreign bond and 0.0% convertible bond). abrdn Emerging Markets Dividend Act ETF has 1.1% of the portfolio in cash.

Assets Under Management

The fund has $356 million in total assets, which is below the $3 billion average for the Diversified Emerging Mkts category. Normally, lower assets under management translates to higher average expense ratios, and greater total assets are desired. However, for some investment categories, such as small-cap investing, it may be difficult for the manager to fully employ the desired active strategy if assets grow too large or too quickly.

AGEM Performance and Fees

The expense ratio measures how much of a fund’s assets are used for administrative expenses and operating expenses, including adviser fees and fees for the transfer agent and custodial services. The abrdn Emerging Markets Dividend Act ETF expense ratio is above average compared to funds in the Diversified Emerging Mkts category. abrdn Emerging Markets Dividend Act ETF has an expense ratio of 0.70%, which is 35% higher than its category average, making the fund expense ratio grade a D. While it is difficult to predict returns, it is known that high annual expense ratios reduce your rate of return, and excessive fees are difficult to overcome. Active management normally comes with higher expense ratios than passive index management. Certain investment categories such as small company and foreign also normally have higher expense ratios. It is best to compare fund expense ratios against the category averages for meaningful assessments.

High portfolio turnover can translate to higher expenses and lower aftertax returns. abrdn Emerging Markets Dividend Act ETF has a portfolio turnover rate of 83%, which indicates that it holds its assets around / 0.0 years. By way of comparison, the average portfolio turnover is 44% for the Diversified Emerging Mkts category.

Recently, in the month of July 2026, abrdn Emerging Markets Dividend Act ETF returned -0.6%, which earned it a grade of B, as the Diversified Emerging Mkts category had an average return of -3.0%. The letter grades of A, B, C, D and F are based upon relative rankings within the investment category. A grade of A, for example, would indicate that the return is in the highest 20% for that time period compared to all ETFs in that category.

abrdn Emerging Markets Dividend Act ETF has a trailing yield of 1.90%, which is below the 2.41% category average. The fund normally distributes its income annually and its capital gains annually.

It’s natural to seek the best-performing investments, but you must consider the relationship between risk and return and the impact of costs and taxes on your realized returns.

abrdn Emerging Markets Dividend Act ETF Grades

Year to date, the ETF has returned 27.2%, 10.1 percentage points better than the category, which translates into a grade of A. The fund has returned 45.9% over the past year (grade of A), 24.4% over the past three years (grade of A) and 9.5% per year over the past five years (grade of B) and 10.4% per year over the past 10 years (grade of A).

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