ETF Evaluator: Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets ETF (VWO) Follow This ETF

Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets ETF Overview

Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets ETF (VWO) is a passively managed International Equity Diversified Emerging Mkts exchange-traded fund (ETF). Vanguard launched the ETF in 2005.

The investment seeks to track the performance the FTSE Emerging Markets All Cap China A Inclusion Index. The index measures the investment return of stocks issued by companies located in emerging market countries. The fund employs an indexing investment approach designed to track the performance of the FTSE Emerging Markets All Cap China A Inclusion Index. It invests by sampling the index, meaning that it holds a broadly diversified collection of securities that, in the aggregate, approximates the index in terms of key characteristics.

About Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets ETF (VWO)

There are 3 members of the management team with an average tenure of 9.85 years: Jeffrey Miller (2016), John Kraynak (2025) and Michael Perre (2008). Management tenure is more important for actively managed ETFs than passive index ETFs.

The ETF has 2 primary benchmarks: FTSE Global All Cap ex US TR USD index with a weighting of 100% and FTSE EMs AC China A Incl (US RIC) NR USD index with a weighting of 100%. Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets ETF has 5077 securities in its portfolio. The top 10 holdings constitute 26.2% of the ETF’s assets. The ETF meets the SEC requirement of being classified as a diversified fund. The ETF is not considered to have an ESG focus with its investment selection and management.

Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets ETF is part of the Equity global asset class and is within the International Equity ETF group. Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets ETF has 94.1% of its portfolio invested in foreign issues. The overall assets allocated to domestic stock is 0.9% There is 94.1% 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). Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets ETF has 4.9% of the portfolio in cash.

Assets Under Management

The fund has $122 billion in total assets, which is above the $3 billion 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.

VWO 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 Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets ETF expense ratio is low compared to funds in the Diversified Emerging Mkts category. Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets ETF has an expense ratio of 0.06%, which is 88% 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. Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets ETF has a portfolio turnover rate of 6%, which indicates that it holds its assets around / 0.2 years. By way of comparison, the average portfolio turnover is 44% for the Diversified Emerging Mkts category.

Recently, in the month of June 2026, Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets ETF returned -0.1%, which earned it a grade of B, as the Diversified Emerging Mkts category had an average return of -1.0%. 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 ETFs in that category.

Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets ETF has a trailing yield of 2.32%, which is below the 2.36% 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.

Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets ETF Grades

Year to date, the ETF has returned 11.2%, 9.9 percentage points worse than the category, which translates into a grade of D. The fund has returned 24.1% over the past year (grade of D), 17.1% over the past three years (grade of D) and 5.1% per year over the past five years (grade of D) and 8.5% per year over the past 10 years (grade of D).

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