Is iShares Emerging Markets Equity Factor ETF (EMGF) a Strong ETF Right Now?

Core Insights - The iShares Emerging Markets Equity Factor ETF (EMGF) is designed to provide broad exposure to the emerging markets category and was launched on December 8, 2015 [1] - The fund is managed by Blackrock and has accumulated over $939.89 million in assets, making it one of the larger ETFs in the Broad Emerging Market ETFs category [5] - EMGF seeks to match the performance of the MSCI Emerging Markets Diversified Multiple-Factor Index [5] Investment Strategy - Smart beta ETFs, like EMGF, aim to outperform traditional market cap weighted indexes by selecting stocks based on specific fundamental characteristics [3][4] - The fund employs a non-cap weighted strategy to enhance risk-return performance [3] Cost and Performance - EMGF has an annual operating expense ratio of 0.26%, positioning it as one of the cheaper options in the market [7] - The ETF has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 3.35% [7] - Year-to-date, EMGF has increased by approximately 19.39% and has risen by about 16.63% over the past year [10] Holdings and Diversification - The top 10 holdings of EMGF account for about 25.08% of its total assets, with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing being the largest at approximately 9.65% [8][9] - The ETF holds around 597 stocks, which helps to effectively diversify company-specific risk [11] Alternatives - Other ETFs in the emerging markets space include Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets ETF (VWO) and iShares Core MSCI Emerging Markets ETF (IEMG), which have significantly larger asset bases of $95.96 billion and $101.31 billion respectively [13] - VWO has a lower expense ratio of 0.07% while IEMG charges 0.09% [13]