Fund Evaluator:

Lazard Emerging Markets Equity Instl Overview

Lazard Emerging Markets Equity Instl (LZEMX) is an actively managed International Equity Diversified Emerging Mkts fund. Lazard launched the fund in 1994.

The investment seeks long-term capital appreciation. Under normal circumstances, the portfolio invests at least 80% of its assets in equity securities of companies whose principal business activities are located in emerging market countries. It invests primarily in equity securities, principally common stocks, of non-U.S. companies whose principal activities are located in emerging market countries and that Lazard Asset Management LLC (the “Investment Manager”) believes are undervalued based on their earnings, cash flow or asset values. In addition to common stocks, such equity securities also may include American Depositary.

About Lazard Emerging Markets Equity Instl (LZEMX)

There are 4 members of the management team with an average tenure of 15.39 years: Monika Shrestha (2014), Rohit Chopra (2007), James Donald (2001), Ganesh Ramachandran (2020). Management tenure is more important for actively managed funds than passive index funds.

The fund has 1 primary benchmark: MSCI EM NR USD index with a weighting of 100%. Lazard Emerging Markets Equity Instl has 98 securities in its portfolio. The top 10 holdings constitute 31.4% 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.

Lazard Emerging Markets Equity Instl is part of the Equity global asset class and is within the International Equity fund group. Lazard Emerging Markets Equity Instl has 95.1% of its portfolio invested in foreign issues. The overall assets allocated to domestic stock is 0.6%. There is 95.1% 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). Lazard Emerging Markets Equity Instl has 4.3% of the portfolio in cash.

Assets Under Management

The fund has $8 billion in total assets, which is above 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.

LZEMX 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 Lazard Emerging Markets Equity Instl expense ratio is high compared to funds in the Diversified Emerging Mkts category. Lazard Emerging Markets Equity Instl has an expense ratio of 1.07%, which is 7% lower than its category average, making the fund expense ratio grade a C. 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. Lazard Emerging Markets Equity Instl has a portfolio turnover rate of 27%, 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, Lazard Emerging Markets Equity Instl returned 2.5%, which earned it a grade of A, 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.

Lazard Emerging Markets Equity Instl has a trailing yield of 1.63%, which is below the 1.72% category average. The fund normally distributes its income semi-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.

Lazard Emerging Markets Equity Instl Grades

Year to date, the fund has returned 25.5%, 6.4 percentage points better than the category, which translates into a grade of A. The fund has returned 46.5% over the past year (grade of A), 25.6% over the past three years (grade of A) and 14.6% per year over the past five years (grade of A) and 10.1% per year over the past 10 years (grade of B).

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