ETF Evaluator: First Trust Emerging Mrkts AlphaDEX® ETF () Follow This ETF

First Trust Emerging Mrkts AlphaDEX® ETF Overview

First Trust Emerging Mrkts AlphaDEX® ETF (FEM) is a passively managed International Equity Diversified Emerging Mkts exchange-traded fund (ETF). First Trust launched the ETF in 2011.

The investment seeks investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield (before the fund's fees and expenses) of an equity index called the NASDAQ AlphaDEX® Emerging Markets Index. The fund will normally invest at least 90% of its net assets (including investment borrowings) in the securities that comprise the index. The index is designed to select stocks from the NASDAQ Emerging Markets Index (the "base index") that may generate positive alpha, or risk-adjusted returns, relative to traditional indices through the use of the AlphaDEX® selection methodology.

About First Trust Emerging Mrkts AlphaDEX® ETF (FEM)

There are 7 members of the management team with an average tenure of 13.21 years: Daniel Lindquist (2011), Jon Erickson (2011), David McGarel (2011), Stan Ueland (2011), Chris Peterson (2016), Erik Russo (2020) and Roger Testin (2011). Management tenure is more important for actively managed ETFs than passive index ETFs.

The ETF has 2 primary benchmarks: NASDAQ Emerging Markets TR USD index with a weighting of 100% and MSCI EM NR USD index with a weighting of 100%. First Trust Emerging Mrkts AlphaDEX® ETF has 184 securities in its portfolio. The top 10 holdings constitute 14.4% 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.

First Trust Emerging Mrkts AlphaDEX® ETF is part of the Equity global asset class and is within the International Equity ETF group. First Trust Emerging Mrkts AlphaDEX® ETF has 96.9% of its portfolio invested in foreign issues. The overall assets allocated to domestic stock is 2.0% There is 96.9% 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). First Trust Emerging Mrkts AlphaDEX® ETF has 1.2% of the portfolio in cash.

Assets Under Management

The fund has $749 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.

FEM 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 First Trust Emerging Mrkts AlphaDEX® ETF expense ratio is high compared to funds in the Diversified Emerging Mkts category. First Trust Emerging Mrkts AlphaDEX® ETF has an expense ratio of 0.80%, which is 54% higher than its category average, making the fund expense ratio grade a F. 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. First Trust Emerging Mrkts AlphaDEX® ETF has a portfolio turnover rate of 111%, 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, First Trust Emerging Mrkts AlphaDEX® ETF returned -2.8%, 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.

First Trust Emerging Mrkts AlphaDEX® ETF has a trailing yield of 2.33%, which is below the 2.41% category average. The fund normally distributes its income quarterly.

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.

First Trust Emerging Mrkts AlphaDEX® ETF Grades

Year to date, the ETF has returned 13.3%, 3.9 percentage points worse than the category, which translates into a grade of D. The fund has returned 26.8% over the past year (grade of D), 13.9% over the past three years (grade of D) and 7.2% per year over the past five years (grade of C) and 8.1% per year over the past 10 years (grade of C).

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