Fund Evaluator:
SA Emerging Markets Value (SAEMX)
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Best Performing in Diversified Emerging Mkts Over the Last Year
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Fund Details
SA Emerging Markets Value Overview
SA Emerging Markets Value (SAEMX) is an actively managed International Equity Diversified Emerging Mkts fund. SA Funds launched the fund in 2007.
The investment seeks long-term capital appreciation. The fund is designed to purchase a broad and diverse group of equity securities of companies in emerging markets, which may include frontier markets. The advisor intends to purchase securities of companies with small, medium and large market capitalizations in their respective markets that the Sub-Adviser considers to be "value" stocks at the time of investment. It will invest at least 80% of its net assets in emerging markets investments that are approved market securities. The fund may lend its portfolio securities to generate additional income.
About SA Emerging Markets Value (SAEMX)
There are 3 members of the management team with an average tenure of 8.98 years: Jed Fogdall (2012), Mary Phillips (2019), Ethan Wren (2020). Management tenure is more important for actively managed funds than passive index funds.
The fund has 2 primary benchmarks: Morningstar EM All Cap TME NR USD index with a weighting of 100% and Morningstar EM Val TME NR USD index with a weighting of 100%. SA Emerging Markets Value has 1798 securities in its portfolio. The top 10 holdings constitute 23.6% 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.
SA Emerging Markets Value is part of the Equity global asset class and is within the International Equity fund group. SA Emerging Markets Value has 99.7% of its portfolio invested in foreign issues. The overall assets allocated to domestic stock is 0.6%. There is 99.7% 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). SA Emerging Markets Value has -0.4% of the portfolio in cash.
Assets Under Management
The fund has $233 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.
SAEMX 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 SA Emerging Markets Value expense ratio is high compared to funds in the Diversified Emerging Mkts category. SA Emerging Markets Value has an expense ratio of 1.04%, which is 10% 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. A portfolio turnover rate cannot be currently calculated for SA Emerging Markets Value. By way of comparison, the average portfolio turnover is 68% for the Diversified Emerging Mkts category.
Recently, in the month of July 2026, SA Emerging Markets Value returned -3.0%, 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.
SA Emerging Markets Value has a trailing yield of 2.90%, 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.
SA Emerging Markets Value Grades
Year to date, the fund has returned 18.4%, 0.6 percentage points worse than the category, which translates into a grade of C. The fund has returned 32.4% over the past year (grade of D), 17.6% over the past three years (grade of C) and 10.6% per year over the past five years (grade of A) and 8.8% per year over the past 10 years (grade of C).
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SAEMX Trailing NAV Total Returns Data as of 7/31/26
| Last Month |
Last Quarter |
Ann'l. 1Yr |
Ann'l. 3Yr |
Ann'l. 5Yr |
Ann'l. 10Yr |
|
| SAEMX Return (NAV) | -3.0% | 3.4% | 32.4% | 17.6% | 10.6% | 8.8% |
| SAEMX Grade | B | B | D | C | A | C |
| +/- Category | 2.0% | 0.9% | -3.5% | -0.3% | 4.1% | 0.1% |
| Diversified Emerging Mkts Avg | -4.9% | 2.4% | 35.9% | 17.9% | 6.5% | 8.7% |
| SAEMX Tax Cost Ratio | na | na | 1.4% | 1.6% | 1.5% | 1.1% |
SAEMX Annual NAV Total ReturnsData as of 7/31/26
| 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | |
| SAEMX Return (NAV) | 18.4% | 29.2% | 5.5% | 15.7% | -11.6% | 10.5% | 0.9% | 8.1% | -12.1% | 31.2% | 17.1% |
| SAEMX Grade | C | D | D | B | A | A | F | F | A | D | A |
| +/- Category | -0.6% | -2.2% | -0.8% | 3.6% | 11.0% | 10.7% | -20.7% | -13.8% | 4.3% | -5.4% | 8.5% |
| Diversified Emerging Mkts Avg | 19.1% | 31.4% | 6.2% | 12.1% | -22.6% | -0.2% | 21.6% | 21.9% | -16.4% | 36.6% | 8.6% |
| Risk Measures | |
| Standard Deviation: | 16.4% |
| Total Risk Index: | 1.33 - Above Average |
| Category Risk Index: | 0.98 - Average |
| Category Risk Grade: | C (47% Rank) |
| Beta: | 1.05 |
| R-Squared: | 79% |
| Leveraged Fund: | No |
| Inverse Fund: | No |
| Portfolio Characteristics | |
| Equity Investment Style: | Large-Cap Value |
| Bond Investment Style: | na |
| Yield: | 2.9% |
| Dividend Distribution: | Annually |
| Cap Gains Distribution: | Annually |
| Total Assets: | $233 Mil |
| Fund Total Assets: | $ 233 Mil |
| Share Class Type: | Other |
| Portfolio Turnover: | na |
Management Team
| Number of Managers: 3 | |||
| Longest Tenure: 13.8 years | |||
| Average Tenure: 9.0 years | |||
| Managers (Year): Fogdall Jed (2012), Phillips Mary (2019), Wren Ethan (2020) | |||
Portfolio Composition (as of 6/30/26)
| # of Holdings: | 1798 |
| % in Top 10 Holdings: | 23.6% |
| Fund is Non-Diversified: | No |
| % in Foreign Issues: | 99.7% |
Portfolio Allocation |
|
| Domestic Stock: | 0.6% |
| Foreign Stock: | 99.7% |
| Preferred Stock: | 0.1% |
| Domestic Bond: | 0.0% |
| Foreign Bond: | 0.0% |
| Convertible Bond: | 0.0% |
| Other: | 0.0% |
| Cash: | -0.4% |
Purchase Information
| Fund Family: | SA Funds |
| Phone Number: | 844-366-0905 |
| Website: | www.sa-funds.net. |
| Status: | Open |
| Inception Date: | April 2, 2007 |
| Min. Initial Purchase: | $100,000 |
| Min. Initial IRA Purchase: | $ 0 |
| True No-Load: | Yes |
| Front Load Maximum: | 0.00% |
| Deferred Charge Maximum: | 0.00% |
| Redemption Charge Maximum: | 0.00% |
| 12b-1 Fee: | na |
Expenses and Fees | |
| Expense Ratio (%): | 1.04% ( Rating : High ) |
| Category Average Expense Ratio (%): | 1.16% |
| Share Class: | SA Emerging Markets Value |
| Min. Subsequent Purchase: | $ 0 |
| Min. Subsequent IRA Purchase: | $ 0 |
