AAII Mutual Fund Summary Report for EFEAX

Fund Evaluator:

Ashmore Emerging Mkts Frontier Eq A (EFEAX) Follow This Fund
Equity
Global Asset Class
International Equity
Fund Group
Diversified Emerging Mkts
Category
$12.040
NAV (as of Sep 04)
$1,000.00
Minimum Initial
1.81% F
Expense Ratio
$113 Mil
Assets
Open
Status
0.25%
12b-1 Fee
1.47%
TTM Yield
5.25%
Max Load
76%
Portfolio Turnover

Best Performing in Diversified Emerging Mkts Over the Last Year

65.7% Invesco Emerging Markets ex-China Y (GTDYX)
64.1% WCM Focused Emerging Mkts Ex Chn Inv (WCFEX)
52.6% Matthews Emerging Markets Sust Fut Inv (MASGX)
48.9% LSV Emerging Markets Equity Inv (LVAZX)
47.7% Lazard Emerging Markets Equity Instl (LZEMX)
Data as of 8/31/2026
3.1% D
1-Mo Return
4.1% A
3-Mo Return
7.2% F
YTD Return
9.0% F
1-Yr Return
17.0% F
3-Yr Return
8.8% B
5-Yr Return
0.72 A
Category Risk Index
0.96
Total Risk Index

Fund Details

Fund Family
Ashmore

Inception Date
5/7/2014

Share Class Type
A

Equity Investment Style
Mid-Cap Blend

Bond Investment Style
na

Socially Responsible Fund
No

Index Fund
No

Benchmark Index
MSCI EM NR USD: 100%

Additional Fund Details


Ashmore Emerging Mkts Frontier Eq A Overview

Ashmore Emerging Mkts Frontier Eq A (EFEAX) is an actively managed International Equity Diversified Emerging Mkts fund. Ashmore launched the fund in 2014.

The investment seeks long-term capital appreciation. The fund seeks to achieve its objective by investing principally in equity securities and equity-related investments of Frontier Market Issuers, which may be denominated in any currency, including the local currency of the issuer. A Frontier Market Issuer is an issuer that is located in a Frontier Market Country, or an issuer deriving at least 50% of its revenues or profits from goods produced or sold, investments made, or services performed in one or more Frontier Market Countries or that has at least 50% of its assets in one or more Frontier Market Countries.

About Ashmore Emerging Mkts Frontier Eq A (EFEAX)

There are 1 members of the management team with an average tenure of 10.67 years: Andrew Brudenell (2015). 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 Frontier EM Select Conty Cap NR USD index with a weighting of 100%. Ashmore Emerging Mkts Frontier Eq A has 98 securities in its portfolio. The top 10 holdings constitute 31.0% 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.

Ashmore Emerging Mkts Frontier Eq A is part of the Equity global asset class and is within the International Equity fund group. Ashmore Emerging Mkts Frontier Eq A has 97.6% of its portfolio invested in foreign issues. The overall assets allocated to domestic stock is 0.0%. There is 97.6% 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). Ashmore Emerging Mkts Frontier Eq A has 2.4% of the portfolio in cash.

Assets Under Management

The fund has $577 million in total assets, which is below the $992 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.

EFEAX 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 Ashmore Emerging Mkts Frontier Eq A expense ratio is high compared to funds in the Diversified Emerging Mkts category. Ashmore Emerging Mkts Frontier Eq A has an expense ratio of 1.81%, which is 57% 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. Ashmore Emerging Mkts Frontier Eq A has a portfolio turnover rate of 76%, 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 August 2026, Ashmore Emerging Mkts Frontier Eq A returned 3.1%, which earned it a grade of D, as the Diversified Emerging Mkts category had an average return of 3.9%. 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.

Ashmore Emerging Mkts Frontier Eq A has a trailing yield of 1.47%, which is below the 1.65% category average. The fund normally distributes its income quarterly 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.

Ashmore Emerging Mkts Frontier Eq A Grades

Year to date, the fund has returned 7.2%, 16.5 percentage points worse than the category, which translates into a grade of F. The fund has returned 9.0% over the past year (grade of F), 17.0% over the past three years (grade of F) and 8.8% per year over the past five years (grade of B) and 7.9% per year over the past 10 years (grade of D).

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EFEAX Trailing NAV Total Returns Data as of 8/31/26

Last
Month
Last
Quarter
Ann'l.
1Yr
Ann'l.
3Yr
Ann'l.
5Yr
Ann'l.
10Yr
EFEAX Return (NAV) 3.1% 4.1% 9.0% 17.0% 8.8% 7.9%
EFEAX Grade D A F F B D
+/- Category -0.8% 5.2% -28.6% -4.7% 2.0% -1.1%
Diversified Emerging Mkts Avg 3.9% -1.2% 37.5% 21.7% 6.8% 8.9%
EFEAX Tax Cost Ratio na na 3.1% 1.7% 1.3% 1.1%

EFEAX Annual NAV Total ReturnsData as of 8/31/26

2026 2025 2024 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016
EFEAX Return (NAV) 7.2% 20.4% 23.8% 10.3% -15.5% 23.9% -4.4% 13.8% -18.4% 28.7% 10.7%
EFEAX Grade F F A C A A F F D F B
+/- Category -16.5% -11.0% 17.6% -1.9% 7.1% 24.1% -26.0% -8.1% -2.0% -8.0% 2.1%
Diversified Emerging Mkts Avg 23.7% 31.4% 6.2% 12.1% -22.6% -0.2% 21.6% 21.9% -16.4% 36.7% 8.6%
Risk Measures
Standard Deviation: 11.7%
Total Risk Index: 0.96 - Average
Category Risk Index: 0.72 - Low
Category Risk Grade: A (4% Rank)
Beta: 0.68
R-Squared: 60%
Leveraged Fund: No
Inverse Fund: No
Portfolio Characteristics
Equity Investment Style: Mid-Cap Blend
Bond Investment Style: na
Yield: 1.5%
Dividend Distribution: Quarterly
Cap Gains Distribution: Annually
Total Assets: $113 Mil
Fund Total Assets: $ 1 Mil
Share Class Type: A
Portfolio Turnover: 76%

Management Team

Number of Managers: 1
Longest Tenure: 10.7 years
Average Tenure: 10.7 years
Managers (Year): Brudenell Andrew (2015)

Portfolio Composition (as of 6/30/26)

# of Holdings: 98
% in Top 10 Holdings: 31.0%
Fund is Non-Diversified: No
% in Foreign Issues: 97.6%
 

Portfolio Allocation

Domestic Stock: 0.0%
Foreign Stock: 97.6%
Preferred Stock: 0.0%
Domestic Bond: 0.0%
Foreign Bond: 0.0%
Convertible Bond: 0.0%
Other: 0.0%
Cash: 2.4%

Purchase Information

Fund Family: Ashmore
Phone Number: 866-876-8294
Website: www.ashmoregroup.com
Status: Open
Inception Date: May 7, 2014
Min. Initial Purchase: $1,000
Min. Initial IRA Purchase: $ 0
True No-Load: No
Front Load Maximum: 5.25%
Deferred Charge Maximum: 0.00%
Redemption Charge Maximum: 0.00%
12b-1 Fee: 0.25%

Expenses and Fees

Expense Ratio (%): 1.81% ( Rating : High )
Category Average Expense Ratio (%): 1.15%
Share Class: Ashmore Emerging Mkts Frontier Eq Instl
Min. Subsequent Purchase: $ 50
Min. Subsequent IRA Purchase: $ 0
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