EMDM vs. DFEM

Last updated Apr 2, 2026

Compare and contrast key facts about First Trust Bloomberg Emerging Market Democracies ETF (EMDM) and Dimensional Emerging Markets Core Equity 2 ETF (DFEM).

EMDM and DFEM are both exchange-traded funds (ETFs), meaning they are traded on stock exchanges and can be bought and sold throughout the day. EMDM is a passively managed fund by First Trust that tracks the performance of the Bloomberg Emerging Market Democracies Index - Benchmark TR Net. It was launched on Mar 2, 2023. DFEM is an actively managed fund by Dimensional. It was launched on Apr 26, 2022.

Performance

EMDM vs. DFEM - Performance Comparison

The chart below illustrates the hypothetical performance of a $10,000 investment in First Trust Bloomberg Emerging Market Democracies ETF (EMDM) and Dimensional Emerging Markets Core Equity 2 ETF (DFEM). The values are adjusted to include any dividend payments, if applicable.

EMDM vs. DFEM - Yearly Performance Comparison

	2026 (YTD)	2025	2024	2023
EMDM First Trust Bloomberg Emerging Market Democracies ETF	13.96%	59.68%	-4.93%	14.21%
DFEM Dimensional Emerging Markets Core Equity 2 ETF	5.34%	29.51%	7.53%	7.86%

Returns By Period

In the year-to-date period, EMDM achieves a 13.96% return, which is significantly higher than DFEM's 5.34% return.

EMDM

• 1D: 1.85%
• 1M: -8.42%
• YTD: 13.96%
• 6M: 28.51%
• 1Y: 70.27%
• 3Y*: 25.62%
• 5Y*: —
• 10Y*: —

DFEM

• 1D: 0.72%
• 1M: -6.35%
• YTD: 5.34%
• 6M: 8.49%
• 1Y: 33.82%
• 3Y*: 16.69%
• 5Y*: —
• 10Y*: —

*Multi-year figures are annualized to reflect compound growth (CAGR)

EMDM vs. DFEM - Expense Ratio Comparison

EMDM has a 0.75% expense ratio, which is higher than DFEM's 0.39% expense ratio.

EMDM

First Trust Bloomberg Emerging Market Democracies ETF

DFEM

Dimensional Emerging Markets Core Equity 2 ETF

Return for Risk

EMDM vs. DFEM — Risk / Return Rank

Compare risk-adjusted metric ranks to identify better-performing investments over the past 12 months.

EMDM

EMDM Risk / Return Rank: 97
EMDM Sharpe Ratio Rank: 97
EMDM Sortino Ratio Rank: 97
EMDM Omega Ratio Rank: 97
EMDM Calmar Ratio Rank: 96
EMDM Martin Ratio Rank: 97

DFEM

DFEM Risk / Return Rank: 86
DFEM Sharpe Ratio Rank: 86
DFEM Sortino Ratio Rank: 85
DFEM Omega Ratio Rank: 86
DFEM Calmar Ratio Rank: 87
DFEM Martin Ratio Rank: 86

The rank (0–100) shows how this investment's returns compare to the risk taken. Higher = better. Based on the past 12 months of data, combining Sharpe, Sortino, and other metrics used by quantitative funds and institutional investors.

EMDM vs. DFEM - Risk-Adjusted Trends Comparison

This table presents a comparison of risk-adjusted performance metrics for First Trust Bloomberg Emerging Market Democracies ETF (EMDM) and Dimensional Emerging Markets Core Equity 2 ETF (DFEM). Risk-adjusted metrics are performance indicators that assess an investment's returns in relation to its risk, enabling a more accurate comparison of different investment options.

	EMDM	DFEM	Difference
Sharpe ratio Return per unit of total volatility	3.00	1.78	+1.22
Sortino ratio Return per unit of downside risk	3.61	2.37	+1.24
Omega ratio Gain probability vs. loss probability	1.55	1.35	+0.20
Calmar ratio Return relative to maximum drawdown	4.58	2.82	+1.75
Martin ratio Return relative to average drawdown	19.05	10.85	+8.20
Data is calculated on a 1-year rolling basis and updated daily. The trend shows the change in the indicator over the past month.

EMDM vs. DFEM - Sharpe Ratio Comparison

The current EMDM Sharpe Ratio is 3.00, which is higher than the DFEM Sharpe Ratio of 1.78. The chart below compares the historical Sharpe Ratios of EMDM and DFEM, offering insights into how both investments have performed under varying market conditions. These values are calculated using daily returns over the previous 12 months.

Sharpe Ratios by Period

	EMDM	DFEM	Difference
Sharpe Ratio (1Y) Calculated over the trailing 1-year period	3.00	1.78	+1.22
Sharpe Ratio (All Time) Calculated using the full available price history	1.31	0.68	+0.63

Correlation

The correlation between EMDM and DFEM is 0.88, which is considered to be high. That indicates a strong positive relationship between their price movements. Having highly-correlated positions in a portfolio may signal a lack of diversification, potentially leading to increased risk during market downturns.

Dividends

EMDM vs. DFEM - Dividend Comparison

EMDM's dividend yield for the trailing twelve months is around 3.13%, more than DFEM's 2.17% yield.

	TTM	2025	2024	2023	2022
EMDM First Trust Bloomberg Emerging Market Democracies ETF	3.13%	3.57%	5.87%	2.16%	0.00%
DFEM Dimensional Emerging Markets Core Equity 2 ETF	2.17%	2.32%	2.50%	2.38%	1.99%

Drawdowns

EMDM vs. DFEM - Drawdown Comparison

The maximum EMDM drawdown since its inception was -18.81%, smaller than the maximum DFEM drawdown of -20.82%. Use the drawdown chart below to compare losses from any high point for EMDM and DFEM.

Drawdown Indicators

	EMDM	DFEM	Difference
Max Drawdown Largest peak-to-trough decline	-18.81%	-20.82%	+2.01%
Max Drawdown (1Y) Largest decline over 1 year	-15.65%	-12.29%	-3.36%
Current Drawdown Current decline from peak	-9.78%	-8.49%	-1.29%
Average Drawdown Average peak-to-trough decline	-4.17%	-5.17%	+1.00%
Ulcer Index Depth and duration of drawdowns from previous peaks	3.76%	3.20%	+0.56%

Volatility

EMDM vs. DFEM - Volatility Comparison

First Trust Bloomberg Emerging Market Democracies ETF (EMDM) has a higher volatility of 11.92% compared to Dimensional Emerging Markets Core Equity 2 ETF (DFEM) at 8.90%. This indicates that EMDM's price experiences larger fluctuations and is considered to be riskier than DFEM based on this measure. The chart below showcases a comparison of their rolling one-month volatility.

Volatility by Period

	EMDM	DFEM	Difference
Volatility (1M) Calculated over the trailing 1-month period	11.92%	8.90%	+3.02%
Volatility (6M) Calculated over the trailing 6-month period	18.42%	13.87%	+4.55%
Volatility (1Y) Calculated over the trailing 1-year period	23.58%	19.09%	+4.49%
Volatility (5Y) Calculated over the trailing 5-year period, annualized	19.00%	16.79%	+2.21%
Volatility (10Y) Calculated over the trailing 10-year period, annualized	19.00%	16.79%	+2.21%