DFEMX Alternatives & Similar Mutual Funds

DFA Emerging Markets Portfolio (DFEMX) belongs to the Emerging Markets Diversified category. Below you'll find alternative mutual funds from the same category, ranked by key criteria, plus funds that investors commonly compare with DFEMX. Use the tables to find lower-cost options, better risk-adjusted returns, or a closer substitute for your current allocation.

Cheapest Alternatives to DFEMX

DFEMX charges 0.36% annually. There are 12 mutual funds in the Emerging Markets Diversified category with lower expense ratios, going as low as 0.08%.

Symbol	Name	Expense Ratio	AUM	Inception
FPADX	Fidelity Emerging Markets Index Fund	0.08%	—	Sep 2011	DFEMX vs FPADX
FERGX	Fidelity SAI Emerging Markets Index Fund	0.08%	—	Jan 2016	DFEMX vs FERGX
FCEEX	Franklin Emerging Market Core Equity (IU) Fund Adv...	0.17%	—	Jul 2019	DFEMX vs FCEEX
SSKEX	State Street Emerging Markets Equity Index Fund	0.17%	—	Dec 2015	DFEMX vs SSKEX
TEQLX	TIAA-CREF Emerging Markets Equity Index Fund	0.19%	—	Aug 2010	DFEMX vs TEQLX

Best Risk-Adjusted Alternatives to DFEMX

DFEMX has a PortfoliosLab risk / return rank of 91. There are 31 mutual funds in the Emerging Markets Diversified category with higher risk-adjusted ranks, going as high as 98.

Symbol	Name	Risk / Return Rank	AUM	Inception
DEMIX	Delaware Emerging Markets Fund	98	—	Jun 1996	DFEMX vs DEMIX
FQEMX	Franklin Templeton SMACS: Series EM	98	—	Nov 2021	DFEMX vs FQEMX
LCSMX	Martin Currie SMA-Shares Series EM Fund	97	—	Jan 2018	DFEMX vs LCSMX
GMAQX	GMO Emerging Markets ex-China Fund	96	—	Oct 2021	DFEMX vs GMAQX
LVAZX	LSV Emerging Markets Equity Fund	96	—	Jan 2019	DFEMX vs LVAZX

Top Performing DFEMX Alternatives (YTD)

DFEMX is at 31.78% YTD. There are 60 mutual funds in the Emerging Markets Diversified category with higher YTD returns, going as high as 145.11%.

Symbol	Name	YTD Return	AUM	Inception
DEMIX	Delaware Emerging Markets Fund	145.11%	—	Jun 1996	DFEMX vs DEMIX
FQEMX	Franklin Templeton SMACS: Series EM	92.59%	—	Nov 2021	DFEMX vs FQEMX
LCSMX	Martin Currie SMA-Shares Series EM Fund	72.12%	—	Jan 2018	DFEMX vs LCSMX
GMAQX	GMO Emerging Markets ex-China Fund	53.39%	—	Oct 2021	DFEMX vs GMAQX
GLLSX	abrdn Emerging Markets ex-China Fund	49.19%	—	Aug 2000	DFEMX vs GLLSX

Lowest Volatility Alternatives to DFEMX

DFEMX has 19.10% 1-year volatility. There are 73 mutual funds in the Emerging Markets Diversified category with lower 1-year volatility, going as low as 11.24%.

Symbol	Name	Volatility 1Y	AUM	Inception
ESCIX	Ashmore Emerging Markets Small Cap Equity Fund	11.24%	—	Oct 2011	DFEMX vs ESCIX
VIESX	Virtus KAR Emerging Markets Small-Cap Fund	11.47%	—	Dec 2013	DFEMX vs VIESX
GQGPX	GQG Partners Emerging Markets Equity Fund	11.51%	—	Dec 2016	DFEMX vs GQGPX
BADEX	BlackRock Defensive Advantage Emerging Markets Fun...	11.61%	—	Dec 2020	DFEMX vs BADEX
COBYX	The Cook & Bynum Fund	11.91%	—	Jun 2009	DFEMX vs COBYX

Lowest Drawdown Alternatives to DFEMX

DFEMX has a 1-year max drawdown of -12.85%. There are 62 mutual funds in the Emerging Markets Diversified category with shallower 1-year drawdowns, going as shallow as -5.70%.

Symbol	Name	Max Drawdown 1Y	AUM	Inception
ESCIX	Ashmore Emerging Markets Small Cap Equity Fund	-5.70%	—	Oct 2011	DFEMX vs ESCIX
WAEMX	Wasatch Emerging Markets Small Cap Fund	-7.89%	—	Sep 2007	DFEMX vs WAEMX
BADEX	BlackRock Defensive Advantage Emerging Markets Fun...	-8.89%	—	Dec 2020	DFEMX vs BADEX
COBYX	The Cook & Bynum Fund	-8.95%	—	Jun 2009	DFEMX vs COBYX
GQGPX	GQG Partners Emerging Markets Equity Fund	-9.12%	—	Dec 2016	DFEMX vs GQGPX

Other Mutual Funds from Dimensional

The 10 most viewed Dimensional mutual funds shown here include DFSVX, DFIVX, DGEIX and span 7 categories.

Symbol	Name	Category	Risk / Return Rank	YTD Return	AUM	Inception
DFSVX	DFA U.S. Small Cap Value Portfolio I	Small Cap Value Equities	61	16.82%	—	Mar 1993	DFEMX vs DFSVX
DFIVX	DFA International Value Portfolio Institutional Cl...	Foreign Large Cap Equities	83	12.21%	—	Feb 1994	DFEMX vs DFIVX
DGEIX	DFA Global Equity Portfolio Institutional Class	Global Equities	78	12.60%	—	Dec 2003	DFEMX vs DGEIX
DFUSX	DFA U.S. Large Company Portfolio	Large Cap Blend Equities	68	9.80%	—	Sep 1999	DFEMX vs DFUSX
DISVX	DFA International Small Cap Value Portfolio	Foreign Small & Mid Cap Equities	68	9.87%	—	Dec 1994	DFEMX vs DISVX
DFFVX	DFA U.S. Targeted Value Portfolio	Small Cap Value Equities	59	15.95%	—	Feb 2000	DFEMX vs DFFVX
DFIEX	DFA International Core Equity Portfolio I	Foreign Large Cap Equities, Large Cap Blend Equities	53	10.75%	—	Sep 2005	DFEMX vs DFIEX
DFSTX	DFA U.S. Small Cap Portfolio	Small Cap Blend Equities	58	16.97%	—	Mar 1992	DFEMX vs DFSTX
DFEOX	DFA US Core Equity 1 Portfolio I	Large Cap Blend Equities	77	11.47%	—	Sep 2005	DFEMX vs DFEOX
DFLVX	DFA U.S. Large Cap Value Portfolio	Large Cap Value Equities	92	16.63%	—	Feb 1993	DFEMX vs DFLVX

Often Compared With DFEMX

Investors most often compare DFEMX with DFAE, SFENX, FDEM. These 20 comparison targets span 8 categories, based on PortfoliosLab usage data.

Symbol	Name	Category	Risk / Return Rank	YTD Return	AUM	Inception
DFAE	Dimensional Emerging Core Equity Market ETF	Emerging Markets Equities	66	21.56%	9.93B	Dec 2020	DFEMX vs DFAE
SFENX	Schwab Fundamental Emerging Markets Equity Index F...	Emerging Markets Equities, Emerging Markets Diversified	75	13.84%	—	Jan 2008	DFEMX vs SFENX
FDEM	Fidelity Emerging Markets Multifactor ETF	Emerging Markets Equities	59	18.08%	608.46M	Feb 2019	DFEMX vs FDEM
VEMAX	Vanguard Emerging Markets Stock Index Fund Admiral...	Emerging Markets Equities	58	13.77%	162.80B	Jun 2006	DFEMX vs VEMAX
VWO	Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets ETF	Emerging Markets Equities	49	10.55%	162.80B	Mar 2005	DFEMX vs VWO
PCY	Invesco Emerging Markets Sovereign Debt ETF	Emerging Markets Bonds	58	2.69%	1.42B	Oct 2007	DFEMX vs PCY
AVEM	Avantis Emerging Markets Equity ETF	Emerging Markets Equities	68	23.75%	24.32B	Sep 2019	DFEMX vs AVEM
DFETX	DFA Emerging Markets II Portfolio	Emerging Markets Diversified	91	31.79%	—	Aug 1997	DFEMX vs DFETX
AVES	Avantis Emerging Markets Value ETF	Emerging Markets Equities	47	12.71%	1.40B	Sep 2021	DFEMX vs AVES
DFCEX	DFA Emerging Markets Core Equity Fund	Emerging Markets Diversified	87	25.36%	—	Apr 2005	DFEMX vs DFCEX
DFEM	Dimensional Emerging Markets Core Equity 2 ETF	Emerging Markets Diversified	66	20.81%	9.44B	Apr 2022	DFEMX vs DFEM
SPY	State Street SPDR S&P 500 ETF	S&P 500	59	8.15%	765.27B	Jan 1993	DFEMX vs SPY
VWENX	Vanguard Wellington Fund Admiral Shares	Diversified Portfolio	65	6.13%	124.70B	May 2001	DFEMX vs VWENX
DFEVX	DFA Emerging Markets Value Portfolio	Emerging Markets Diversified	88	24.53%	—	Mar 1998	DFEMX vs DFEVX
JPEM	J.P. Morgan Diversified Return Emerging Markets Eq...	Emerging Markets Equities	43	4.39%	392.87M	Jan 2015	DFEMX vs JPEM
DFALX	DFA Large Cap International Portfolio	Foreign Large Cap Equities	50	10.98%	—	Jul 1991	DFEMX vs DFALX
FOSFX	Fidelity Overseas Fund	Foreign Large Cap Equities	13	9.54%	—	Dec 1984	DFEMX vs FOSFX
VIGI	Vanguard International Dividend Appreciation ETF	Dividend, Foreign Large Cap Equities	18	2.46%	9.20B	Feb 2016	DFEMX vs VIGI
DUSLX	DFA U.S. Large Cap Growth Portfolio	Large Cap Growth Equities	40	10.11%	—	Dec 2012	DFEMX vs DUSLX
DILRX	DFA International Large Cap Growth Portfolio	Foreign Large Cap Equities	22	9.51%	—	Dec 2012	DFEMX vs DILRX

Compare DFEMX with Any Fund or Stock

Compare DFEMX with any ETF, mutual fund, or stock using PortfoliosLab's comparison tool.

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Diversifiers

Pair DFEMX with funds that move differently

DFA Emerging Markets Portfolio alternatives help with substitution. Diversifiers are the next step when you want funds with lower historical correlation to DFEMX.

Explore DFEMX Diversifiers

DFA Emerging Markets Portfolio (DFEMX) Alternatives