Fund Evaluator:

Vaughan Nelson Emerging Markets Instl Cl Overview

Vaughan Nelson Emerging Markets Instl Cl (ADVMX) is an actively managed International Equity Diversified Emerging Mkts fund. Vaughan Nelson launched the fund in 2013.

The investment seeks long term capital appreciation. Under normal circumstances, the fund will invest at least 80% of its net assets (including amounts borrowed for investment purposes) in equity securities of companies that are either listed, domiciled, or conduct a meaningful amount of business in emerging markets. The fund's advisor defines companies conducting a meaningful amount of business in emerging markets as those companies that derive at least 50% of revenues or net profits from, or have at least 50% of assets or production capacities in, emerging market countries.

About Vaughan Nelson Emerging Markets Instl Cl (ADVMX)

There are 2 members of the management team with an average tenure of 6.00 years: Kevin Ross (2017), Adam Rich (2024). Management tenure is more important for actively managed funds than passive index funds.

The fund has 2 primary benchmarks: MSCI EM NR USD index with a weighting of 100% and MSCI Emerging Markets SMID NR USD index with a weighting of 100%. Vaughan Nelson Emerging Markets Instl Cl has 26 securities in its portfolio. The top 10 holdings constitute 59.1% of the fund’s assets. The fund meets the SEC requirement of being classified as a diversified fund. The fund is not considered to have an ESG focus with its investment selection and management.

Vaughan Nelson Emerging Markets Instl Cl is part of the Equity global asset class and is within the International Equity fund group. Vaughan Nelson Emerging Markets Instl Cl has 92.0% of its portfolio invested in foreign issues. The overall assets allocated to domestic stock is 3.4%. There is 92.0% 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). Vaughan Nelson Emerging Markets Instl Cl has 1.1% of the portfolio in cash.

Assets Under Management

The fund has $62 million in total assets, which is below the $967 million 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.

ADVMX 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 Vaughan Nelson Emerging Markets Instl Cl expense ratio is high compared to funds in the Diversified Emerging Mkts category. Vaughan Nelson Emerging Markets Instl Cl has an expense ratio of 1.01%, which is 13% lower than its category average, making the fund expense ratio grade a B. 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. Vaughan Nelson Emerging Markets Instl Cl has a portfolio turnover rate of 164%, indicating that holds its assets around 0.0 years. By way of comparison, the average portfolio turnover is 68% for the Diversified Emerging Mkts category.

Recently, in the month of July 2026, Vaughan Nelson Emerging Markets Instl Cl returned -7.5%, which earned it a grade of D, as the Diversified Emerging Mkts category had an average return of -4.9%. 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 funds in that category.

Vaughan Nelson Emerging Markets Instl Cl has a trailing yield of 0.54%, which is below the 1.72% 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.

Vaughan Nelson Emerging Markets Instl Cl Grades

Year to date, the fund has returned 6.6%, 12.4 percentage points worse than the category, which translates into a grade of F. The fund has returned 34.6% over the past year (grade of C), 14.9% over the past three years (grade of D) and 8.3% per year over the past five years (grade of B) and 7.4% per year over the past 10 years (grade of D).

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