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International or non-US investing has been quietly putting up robust numbers for shareholders. Today, we are seeing international, gold and even grains of late start to rally, without much give-back in the S&P 500 or Nasdaq.
iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ex China ETF is rated HOLD due to its concentrated exposure to Asian semiconductor leaders and recent rally. EMXC's returns are driven by TSMC, Samsung, and SK hynix, making it highly sensitive to the semiconductor cycle and AI infrastructure spending. Despite broad holdings, EMXC's performance is not diversified; volatility is high and future returns likely to be more moderate and uneven.
When Chinese equities perform well, the fund benefits from that allocation. When China struggles, the country's weighting can become a drag on overall emerging market returns.
The action in Emerging Markets ETFs this year has been really interesting to watch. From record-breaking asset flows to impressive results, albeit massively dispersed, this category of funds has had quite a ride so far in 2026.
Three funds dominate the emerging markets ex-China conversation right now, and each one has put meaningful daylight between itself and the S&P 500 so far this year.
The S&P 500 is up about 8% year to date. The same money parked in iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ex China ETF (NASDAQ:EMXC) is up roughly 29.2%.
Amid President Trump's meeting in China, ex-China ETFs offer investors emerging markets growth without the China headline risk.
Geopolitical tensions and governance concerns in China have prompted institutional investors to reallocate emerging-market exposure toward India, Brazil, Southeast Asia, and Mexico.