Fund Evaluator:

Mercer Emerging Markets Equity I Overview

Mercer Emerging Markets Equity I (MEMSX) is an actively managed International Equity Diversified Emerging Mkts fund. Mercer Funds launched the fund in 2023.

The investment seeks to provide long-term total return, which includes capital appreciation and income. The fund invests at least 80% of its net assets, plus the amount of any borrowings, in equity securities of companies that are located in emerging markets, and other investments that are tied economically to emerging markets but that may be listed or traded outside the issuer’s domicile country, which may include American, European and Global Depositary Receipts and other depositary receipts (“Depositary Receipts”).

About Mercer Emerging Markets Equity I (MEMSX)

There are 18 members of the management team with an average tenure of 3.64 years: Allison Fisch (2024), Caroline Cai (2024), Glen Finegan (2021), Roderick Snell (2024), Ian Tabberer (2021), Tim Dröge (2024), William Sutcliffe (2024), Sophie Earnshaw (2024), Stephen Deane (2021), Rakesh Bordia (2024), Ronan Kelleher (2021), Michael Cahoon (2021), Richard Fong (2015), Daniel Haesen (2024), Han van der Boon (2024), Zach Olsen (2022), Akhil Subramanian (2024), Nicholas Cowley (2021). 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%. Mercer Emerging Markets Equity I has 630 securities in its portfolio. The top 10 holdings constitute 39.2% 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.

Mercer Emerging Markets Equity I is part of the Equity global asset class and is within the International Equity fund group. Mercer Emerging Markets Equity I has 97.1% of its portfolio invested in foreign issues. The overall assets allocated to domestic stock is 1.2%. There is 97.1% allocated to foreign stock, and 0.1% 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). Mercer Emerging Markets Equity I has 1.7% of the portfolio in cash.

Assets Under Management

The fund has $157 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.

MEMSX 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 Mercer Emerging Markets Equity I expense ratio is above average compared to funds in the Diversified Emerging Mkts category. Mercer Emerging Markets Equity I has an expense ratio of 0.60%, which is 48% lower than its category average, making the fund expense ratio grade a A. 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. Mercer Emerging Markets Equity I has a portfolio turnover rate of 49%, 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, Mercer Emerging Markets Equity I returned -3.8%, which earned it a grade of B, 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.

Mercer Emerging Markets Equity I has a trailing yield of 2.20%, which is above 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.

Mercer Emerging Markets Equity I Grades

Year to date, the fund has returned 19.5%, 0.4 percentage points better than the category, which translates into a grade of C. The fund has returned 34.8% over the past year (grade of C), 15.6% over the past three years (grade of D) and 4.5% per year over the past five years (grade of D) and 6.9% per year over the past 10 years (grade of F).

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