The Best Emerging Market Equity ETFs to Buy

Emerging-market stock exchange-traded funds can add diversification to investor portfolios. We screened for the emerging-market ETFs that Morningstar analysts believe have the best chance of outperforming.

Funds in this category must invest at least 90% of their equity holdings in a broadly based portfolio of securities from emerging-market countries. Funds with a consistent narrow focus on a single country, a group of countries, or a single region within emerging markets are excluded.

The 9 Best Emerging-Market Equity ETFs to Buy in 2026

We screened the category for funds with

of Bronze, Silver, or Gold with at least 25% analyst coverage. All the ETFs on the list have at least C$100 million in assets. All data is as of May 19.

• BMO MSCI Emerging Markets Index ETF ZEM
• iShares MSCI Min Vol Emerging Markets Index ETF XMM
• iShares Core MSCI Emerging Markets IMI Index ETF XEC
• iShares MSCI Emerging Markets Index ETF XEM
• Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets All Cap Index ETF VEE
• iShares ESG Aware MSCI Emerging Markets Index ETF XSEM
• CIBC MSCI Emerging Markets Equity Index ETF CEMI
• Manulife Multifactor Emerging Markets Index ETF MEME.B
• Global X MSCI Emerging Markets Index ETF EMMX.U

Morningstar expects these funds to outperform their peers over a full market cycle. Though they fall into the same category, they may have different strategies and behave differently. Investors should do their homework and understand exactly what a particular fund invests in before buying.

Here’s a quick look at each of the best emerging-market equity ETFs. Be sure to review a fund’s complete report for more details.

BMO MSCI Emerging Markets Index ETF

• Index Fund: Yes
• MER: 0.27
• Morningstar Medalist Rating
  : Bronze
• Morningstar Rating
  : ★★★

Over the past 12 months, this fund rose 39.58%, while the average fund in its category rose 39.03%. The fund, launched in October 2009, has climbed 21.51% over the past three years and 8.96% over the past five.

BMO MSCI Emerging Markets ETF should benefit from a low fee and a broad portfolio, but indexing is a blunt tool for managing the geopolitical risks inherent to emerging markets.

The fund has become more top-heavy in recent years, though this is a common problem plaguing many of its Morningstar Category peers owing to the explosive rise of a few market darlings such as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing. With over 800 names in its lineup, the fund has historically allocated around 30% of its assets to its 10 largest positions, but this figure climbed to over 37% at the end of December 2025.

In general, emerging markets face greater geopolitical risks than their developed counterparts. For instance, MSCI had to remove Russian stocks from the fund’s target index in February 2022, and the fund marked its Russian stocks’ values down to zero. The impact on performance was limited by the fund’s single-digit allocation to Russian stocks at the end of January 2022. The fund also cannot avoid many of the state-owned behemoths prevalent in emerging markets, which may not always prioritize the interests of public shareholders.

The fund’s 0.27% annual fee falls into the cheapest quintile of the emerging markets equity category and helped it easily beat its category average. This low fee should continue to provide a long-term edge.

Read Morningstar’s full report on the BMO MSCI Emerging Markets Index ETF.

iShares MSCI Min Vol Emerging Markets Index ETF

• Index Fund: Yes
• MER: 0.42
• Morningstar Medalist Rating
  : Gold
• Morningstar Rating
  : ★★

This C$111.2 million fund has climbed 15.90% over the past 12 months, underperforming the average fund in its category, which rose 39.03%. The BlackRock fund, launched in July 2012, has climbed 11.78% over the past three years and 7.12% over the past five.

IShares MSCI Emerging Markets Minimum Volatility is a well-designed low-volatility strategy whose ability to weather drawdowns should continue to drive a strong risk/reward profile.

Comprehensive portfolio constraints improve this strategy, even if they moderately diminish its defensive chops. The fund ties its stock-, sector-, and country-level allocations to the parent index. These constraints reduce concentration and ensure that sectors like consumer defensive and utilities—favorites among simpler low-volatility strategies—don’t overrun the portfolio. Controlling for risk factors like value and momentum prevents incidental style or factor bets. These guardrails may prevent the fund from building the most defensive portfolio possible, but they make sure that no unintended bets compromise the low-volatility focus. That’s a worthy trade-off.

The index has delivered on its goals so far. Its returns were 28% less volatile than the MSCI Emerging Markets Index from its October 2011 inception through March 2026. Investors shouldn’t expect this strategy to keep pace when the market rallies or excel every single time it wobbles, but its risk/reward profile should measure up well over the long haul. Further, low fees allow the fund to capture nearly all of the index’s returns.

Read Morningstar’s full report on the iShares MSCI Min Vol Emerging Markets Index ETF.

iShares Core MSCI Emerging Markets IMI Index ETF

• Index Fund: Yes
• MER: 0.28
• Morningstar Medalist Rating
  : Bronze
• Morningstar Rating
  : ★★★

Over the past 12 months, the BlackRock fund rose 38.44%, while the average fund in its category rose 39.03%. The fund, launched in April 2013, has climbed 21.41% over the past three years and 9.21% over the past five.

IShares Core MSCI Emerging Markets IMI ETF’s main strength is its low fee, which makes it a solid option for investors seeking emerging-market equity exposure. That said, the complexities inherent in emerging markets can leave opportunities for the best active managers to add value and limit our conviction in this passive approach.

At the country level, the index has a long-standing allocation to China (20%-30%). Since 2018, the index has included China A-shares. Other major country weightings are India, Taiwan, and South Korea; these top-four countries concentrate approximately 75% of the portfolio in four key emerging markets. In terms of sectors, information technology, financials, consumer discretionary, communication services, and industrials make up about three-fourths of the index.

The recent performance of the MSCI Emerging Markets IMI has varied across different countries. Focusing on its largest country exposures (in US dollar terms), stocks from Korea posted a return of 93%, far outpacing Taiwan stocks’ return of 38% in 2025. Conversely, India returned just 0.4% for the year. China, the largest country in the index with a weight of approximately 25% to 30%, delivered a strong 31.5% return.

All that said, the exchange-traded fund’s broad exposure and competitive fee structure make it an attractive option for investors, but the varying country performances suggest there is room for active managers to add value through more nuanced and flexible approaches; this earns the fund a Process rating of Average.

The fund is managed by BlackRock; the firm’s industry-leading technology, global footprint, and extensive supporting cast earn it an Above Average People Pillar rating.

Read Morningstar’s full report on the iShares Core MSCI Emerging Markets IMI Index ETF.

iShares MSCI Emerging Markets Index ETF

• Index Fund: Yes
• MER: 0.83
• Morningstar Medalist Rating
  : Bronze
• Morningstar Rating
  : ★★★

This C$404.6 million fund has climbed 39.46% over the past 12 months, performing roughly in line with the average fund in its category, which rose 39.03%. The BlackRock fund, launched in June 2009, has climbed 21.29% over the past three years and 8.48% over the past five.

IShares MSCI Emerging Markets Index ETF accurately captures most of the emerging-market universe. However, indexing is a blunt tool for managing the geopolitical risks inherent to emerging markets, and the fund’s high fee limits its appeal.

The fund’s broad portfolio should help mitigate the impact of any single market or stock. With over 1,200 names in its lineup, the fund tends to allocate under 25% of its assets to its 10 largest positions. This figure climbed to just over 30% by the end of December 2025 as some of its top names benefited from the artificial intelligence-driven rally last year, such as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing or Samsung Electronics.

In general, emerging markets face greater geopolitical risks than their developed counterparts. For instance, MSCI had to remove Russian stocks from the fund’s target index in February 2022, and the fund marked its Russian stocks’ values down to zero. The impact on performance was limited by the fund’s single-digit allocation to Russian stocks at the end of January 2022. The fund also cannot avoid many of the state-owned behemoths prevalent in emerging markets, which may not always prioritize the interests of public shareholders.

BlackRock charges a hefty 0.82% annual management fee for this exchange-traded fund, despite similar offerings available for a fraction of that price. Nonetheless, this is still lower than what many of its actively managed Morningstar Category peers charge and helped it outperform the category average from its 2009 inception through December 2025.

Read Morningstar’s full report on the iShares MSCI Emerging Markets Index ETF.

Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets All Cap Index ETF

• Index Fund: Yes
• MER: 0.25
• Morningstar Medalist Rating
  : Bronze
• Morningstar Rating
  : ★★★

This C$4 billion fund has climbed 21.84% over the past 12 months, underperforming the average fund in its category, which rose 39.03%. The Vanguard fund, which launched in November 2011, has climbed 16.79% over the past three years and gained 7.31% over the past five years.

Vanguard Emerging Markets Stock Index’s broad portfolio and rock-bottom expense ratio should help it outperform category peers over the long haul. However, the unavoidable geopolitical risk of emerging markets can introduce unwanted volatility.

All the funds’ share classes fall in the least-expensive quintile of their respective category, which helped each outperform its category average from inception through December 2025. This ultralow price tag should continue to provide a durable advantage.

Read Morningstar’s full report on the Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets All Cap Index ETF.

iShares ESG Aware MSCI Emerging Markets Index ETF

• Index Fund: Yes
• MER: 0.34
• Morningstar Medalist Rating
  : Bronze
• Morningstar Rating
  : ★★

Over the past 12 months, the BlackRock fund rose 39.41%, while the average fund in its category rose 39.03%. The fund, launched in March 2019, has climbed 21.66% over the past three years and 8.46% over the past five.

IShares ESG Aware MSCI Emerging Markets ETF ESGE captures most of the emerging-markets universe despite some mild environmental, social, and governance-driven tilts. However, indexing is a blunt tool for managing the geopolitical risks inherent to emerging markets.

The portfolio features about one-fourth of the stocks in the parent index, but with a similar composition. Its sector exposures did not stray far from its average Morningstar Category peer, save for a slight overweighting in financials stocks. Its country weightings were similar to both the index and the category average, with China receiving the highest weighting at just under 30% of its portfolio.

Its low annual fee of 0.25% helps preserve the advantage of its broad and diversified portfolio over category peers. The fund outperformed the category average by 92 basis points annualized from its 2016 inception through December 2025.

Read Morningstar’s full report on the iShares ESG Aware MSCI Emerging Markets Index ETF.

CIBC MSCI Emerging Markets Equity Index ETF

• Index Fund: Yes
• MER: 0.28
• Morningstar Medalist Rating
  : Bronze
• Morningstar Rating
  : ★★★

This C$192.8 million fund has gained 39.36% over the past 12 months, while the average fund in its category is up 39.03%. The CIBC fund, launched in September 2021, has gained 21.32% over the past three years.

Approximately 75% of the portfolio is concentrated in China, India, Taiwan, and South Korea, with China alone accounting for about a third. In terms of sectors, there’s a pronounced tilt toward information technology and financials, each capturing about 20%-25% of the portfolio. Consumer discretionary and communication services also make up significant portions. At the stock level, the portfolio is relatively diversified, with the top 10 names constituting approximately 20%-30% of the overall holdings, reflecting a balanced approach to individual stock exposure.

MSCI classifies South Korea as an emerging-market country, while other major benchmarks, like the FTSE Emerging Index, consider South Korea a developed market. This results in a sizable difference, as South Korea’s country weighting in this MSCI index is around 10%.

This share class’ Process Pillar rating and analysis are inherited from an analyst-covered passive share class which tracks the same index: Fidelity Index Emerging Markets P Acc (SecID: F00000SKX8).

Read Morningstar’s full report on the CIBC MSCI Emerging Markets Equity Index ETF.

Manulife Multifactor Emerging Markets Index ETF

• Index Fund: Yes
• MER: 0.74
• Morningstar Medalist Rating
  : Bronze
• Morningstar Rating
  : ★★★

Over the past 12 months, the Manulife fund rose 35.66%, while the average fund in its category rose 39.03%. The fund, launched in December 2018, has climbed 19.92% over the past three years and 9.54% over the past five.

Approximately 75% of the portfolio is concentrated in China, India, Taiwan, and South Korea, with China alone accounting for about a third. In terms of sectors, there’s a pronounced tilt toward information technology and financials, each capturing about 20%-25% of the portfolio. Consumer discretionary and communication services also make up significant portions. At the stock level, the portfolio is relatively diversified, with the top 10 names constituting approximately 20%-30% of the overall holdings, reflecting a balanced approach to individual stock exposure.

MSCI classifies South Korea as an emerging-market country, while other major benchmarks, like the FTSE Emerging Index, consider South Korea a developed market. This results in a sizable difference, as South Korea’s country weighting in this MSCI index is around 10%.

Note: This share class’ Process Pillar rating and analysis are inherited from an analyst-covered passive share class which tracks the same index: Fidelity Index Emerging Markets P Acc (SecID: F00000SKX8).

Read Morningstar’s full report on the Manulife Multifactor Emerging Markets Index ETF.

Global X MSCI Emerging Markets Index ETF

• Index Fund: Yes
• MER: 0.28
• Morningstar Medalist Rating
  : Bronze
• Morningstar Rating
  : N/A

Over the past 12 months, the Global X fund rose 37.96%, while the average fund in its category rose 39.03%. The fund launched in May 2024.

The MSCI Emerging Markets Index is a free-float-adjusted, market-cap-weighted index covering large- and mid-cap companies in 24 emerging markets. With about 1,200-1,400 constituents, the index covers approximately 85% of the readily available shares in each representative country. The index is reviewed quarterly. Components must meet various eligibility metrics including minimum criteria for liquidity, minimum free-float-adjusted market cap, and foreign ownership.

MSCI has completed all previously planned phases of its China A-shares inclusion process. Thus far, large- and mid-cap China A-shares have been added to its mainline indexes at a 20% inclusion factor since November 2019. This means that China A-shares are weighted at 20% of their free-float market cap in the index. Any further inclusion of China A-shares is an ongoing topic of discussion.

Outside of the increased China inclusion, the MSCI Emerging Markets Index universe has undergone a series of other additions and subtractions. Saudi Arabia (and the world’s largest IPO, Saudi Aramco) and Argentina were included in 2019, only for Argentina to be dropped again after review in 2021. More recently, Russia has been stripped of its emerging-market status, effectively removing its 2% exposure from the index. While inclusion events can sometimes offer the potential for many event-driven alpha opportunities (particularly around index inclusion), they mostly remain as tail risks for passive investors when considering the index’s cap-weighted approach to investing.

Read Morningstar’s full report on the Global X MSCI Emerging Markets Index ETF.