ETF Evaluator: First Trust Emerging Mkts Lcl Ccy Bd ETF () Follow This ETF

First Trust Emerging Mkts Lcl Ccy Bd ETF Overview

First Trust Emerging Mkts Lcl Ccy Bd ETF (FEMB) is an actively managed Taxable Bond Emerging-Markets Local-Currency Bond exchange-traded fund (ETF). First Trust launched the ETF in 2014.

The investment seeks maximum total return and current income. Under normal market conditions, the fund seeks to achieve its investment objective by investing at least 80% of its net assets (including investment borrowings) in bonds, notes and bills issued or guaranteed by entities incorporated or domiciled in emerging market countries (collectively, "Bonds") that are denominated in the local currency of the issuer. It is non-diversified.

About First Trust Emerging Mkts Lcl Ccy Bd ETF (FEMB)

There are 3 members of the management team with an average tenure of 10.31 years: Leonardo Da Costa (2014), Anthony Beevers (2019) and Derek Fulton (2014). Management tenure is more important for actively managed ETFs than passive index ETFs.

The ETF has 2 primary benchmarks: JPM GBI-EM Global Diversified TR USD index with a weighting of 100% and Bloomberg EM LC Gov 10% Cnty Cap TR USD index with a weighting of 100%. First Trust Emerging Mkts Lcl Ccy Bd ETF has 90 securities in its portfolio. The top 10 holdings constitute 36.2% of the ETF’s assets. The ETF meets the SEC requirement of being classified as a nondiversified fund. The ETF is not considered to have an ESG focus with its investment selection and management.

First Trust Emerging Mkts Lcl Ccy Bd ETF is part of the Fixed Income global asset class and is within the Taxable Bond ETF group. First Trust Emerging Mkts Lcl Ccy Bd ETF has 95.6% of its portfolio invested in foreign issues. The overall assets allocated to domestic stock is 0.0% There is 0.0% allocated to foreign stock, and 0.0% is allocated to preferred stocks. The bond allocation as a percentage of total assets is 95.6% (0.0% domestic bond, 95.6% foreign bond and 0.0% convertible bond). First Trust Emerging Mkts Lcl Ccy Bd ETF has 4.4% of the portfolio in cash.

Assets Under Management

The fund has $361 million in total assets, which is below the $1 billion average for the Emerging-Markets Local-Currency Bond 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.

FEMB 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 Mkts Lcl Ccy Bd ETF expense ratio is high compared to funds in the Emerging-Markets Local-Currency Bond category. First Trust Emerging Mkts Lcl Ccy Bd ETF has an expense ratio of 0.85%, which is 78% 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 Mkts Lcl Ccy Bd ETF has a portfolio turnover rate of 46%, which indicates that it holds its assets around / 0.0 years. By way of comparison, the average portfolio turnover is 33% for the Emerging-Markets Local-Currency Bond category.

Recently, in the month of July 2026, First Trust Emerging Mkts Lcl Ccy Bd ETF returned 0.6%, which earned it a grade of C, as the Emerging-Markets Local-Currency Bond category had an average return of 0.6%. 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 Mkts Lcl Ccy Bd ETF has a trailing yield of 6.19%, which is above the 4.31% category average. The fund normally distributes its income monthly.

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 Mkts Lcl Ccy Bd ETF Grades

Year to date, the ETF has returned 2.2%, 0.5 percentage points worse than the category, which translates into a grade of C. The fund has returned 10.9% over the past year (grade of A), 6.0% over the past three years (grade of B) and 2.8% per year over the past five years (grade of B) and 2.0% per year over the past 10 years (grade of C).

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