Fund Evaluator:

Wasatch Emerging Markets Small Cap Inv Overview

Wasatch Emerging Markets Small Cap Inv (WAEMX) is an actively managed International Equity Diversified Emerging Mkts fund. Wasatch launched the fund in 2007.

The investment seeks long-term growth of capital. The fund invests primarily in small companies tied economically to emerging markets. It will invest at least 80% of the fund's net assets (plus borrowings for investment purposes) in the equity securities, typically common stock, of small-capitalization companies that are tied economically to emerging market countries. The fund may invest a large percentage of its assets in a few sectors. These sectors were information technology, financials, industrials, consumer discretionary, and consumer staples. It is non-diversified.

About Wasatch Emerging Markets Small Cap Inv (WAEMX)

There are 5 members of the management team with an average tenure of 7.82 years: Scott Thomas (2015), Kevin Unger (2018), Anh Hoang (2022), Daniel Chace (2019), Ajay Krishnan (2019). 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 EM Small NR USD index with a weighting of 100%. Wasatch Emerging Markets Small Cap Inv has 55 securities in its portfolio. The top 10 holdings constitute 37.2% of the fund’s assets. The fund meets the SEC requirement of being classified as a nondiversified fund. The fund is not considered to have an ESG focus with its investment selection and management.

Wasatch Emerging Markets Small Cap Inv is part of the Equity global asset class and is within the International Equity fund group. Wasatch Emerging Markets Small Cap Inv has 91.1% of its portfolio invested in foreign issues. The overall assets allocated to domestic stock is 4.5%. There is 91.1% 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). Wasatch Emerging Markets Small Cap Inv has 4.4% of the portfolio in cash.

Assets Under Management

The fund has $64 million in total assets, which is below the $1 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.

WAEMX 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 Wasatch Emerging Markets Small Cap Inv expense ratio is high compared to funds in the Diversified Emerging Mkts category. Wasatch Emerging Markets Small Cap Inv has an expense ratio of 1.95%, which is 68% 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. Wasatch Emerging Markets Small Cap Inv has a portfolio turnover rate of 38%, 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 June 2026, Wasatch Emerging Markets Small Cap Inv returned 0.5%, which earned it a grade of C, as the Diversified Emerging Mkts category had an average return of 0.2%. 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.

Wasatch Emerging Markets Small Cap Inv has a trailing yield of 0.00%, which is below the 1.58% 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.

Wasatch Emerging Markets Small Cap Inv Grades

Year to date, the fund has returned 25.3%, 0.4 percentage points worse than the category, which translates into a grade of C. The fund has returned 26.8% over the past year (grade of F), 11.9% over the past three years (grade of F) and 1.2% per year over the past five years (grade of F) and 8.3% per year over the past 10 years (grade of D).

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