# First Trust Emerging Markets AlphaDEX Fund (FEM): ETF Facts & Distributions > Markdown mirror of https://www.dividenddata.com/funds/fem for AI agents. Same live data as the HTML page, regenerated on the same refresh cycle. Not investment advice. - Issuer: First Trust · Asset class: International Equity - Strategy: Thematic · Inception: 2011-04-18 FEM does not promise broad exposure to emerging markets, trying instead to build a portfolio of stocks positioned to outperform. The fund uses a selection methodology focused on growth and value factors to screen firms by scoring each security twice by both growth and value characteristics, assigning whatever score is highest as the stock's style score. It then takes the 150 top-scoring stocks and breaks them into quintiles, giving higher-scoring quintiles greater weight in the index. The index is rebalanced and reconstituted semi-annually. ## Key Facts | Metric | Value | |---|---| | Price | $31.73 | | Expense Ratio | 0.80% | | Assets Under Management | $775.6M | | NAV | $31.72 | | Holdings Count | 158 | | Distribution Yield (TTM) | 2.26% | | Annual Distribution (TTM) | $0.72 /share | | Distribution Frequency | Quarterly | | 52-Week Range | $25.93 – $35.61 | | Beta | 0.81 | ## Latest Distribution - Amount: $0.2849 /share - Ex-date: 2026-09-24 - Pay date: 2026-09-30 ## Frequently Asked Questions ### What does FEM invest in? FEM does not promise broad exposure to emerging markets, trying instead to build a portfolio of stocks positioned to outperform. The fund uses a selection methodology focused on growth and value factors to screen firms by scoring each security twice by both growth and value characteristics, assigning whatever score is highest as the stock's style score. It then takes the 150 top-scoring stocks and breaks them into quintiles, giving higher-scoring quintiles greater weight in the index. The index is rebalanced and reconstituted semi-annually. ### What is the expense ratio of FEM? First Trust Emerging Markets AlphaDEX Fund (FEM) charges an expense ratio of 0.80%. This is the annual fee deducted from fund assets to cover management and operations. ### How big is FEM? First Trust Emerging Markets AlphaDEX Fund (FEM) manages $775.6M in total assets. AUM determines bid-ask liquidity and the fund's vulnerability to closure. Funds below ~$50M are at higher risk of liquidation. ### Is FEM actively managed or an index fund? FEM's management style is described in the fund's prospectus. See the description on the Summary tab for the published strategy. ### When was FEM launched? First Trust Emerging Markets AlphaDEX Fund (FEM) launched in April 2011 and is managed by First Trust. ### How has FEM performed? FEM's total return (price change plus reinvested distributions) is charted at the top of this page. Switch the price chart to Total Return and pick a 1-year, 3-year, 5-year, or 10-year window to read the compound annual growth rate (CAGR) over each horizon. ### Does FEM pay a dividend? First Trust Emerging Markets AlphaDEX Fund (FEM) currently distributes little or no income. Trailing-twelve-month yield is 2.26%. Investors looking for income should consider income-focused alternatives. See the Peers tab. ### How often does FEM pay dividends? First Trust Emerging Markets AlphaDEX Fund pays dividends Quarterly. Each ex-dividend date, record date, and payment date is listed in the dividend history table on this page. ### What is FEM's dividend yield? FEM's trailing-twelve-month yield is 2.26%, calculated from the sum of dividends over the past year divided by the current price. ### When is FEM's next ex-dividend date? The most recently announced ex-dividend date for FEM was 2026-09-24. The next ex-date typically follows Quarterly; once announced it appears at the top of the dividend history table on this page. ### How much will FEM's expense ratio cost me over 30 years? On a $10,000 investment compounding at 7% gross return, a 0.80% expense ratio quietly compounds against your balance every year. The Fee Compounding Forecast card above projects the dollar drag for any holding period and assumption you pick. The typical result for a 1.0% expense ratio on a 30-year hold is roughly 25% of the final balance lost to fees. ### How does FEM charge its expense ratio? The expense ratio is deducted in tiny daily slices from FEM's net asset value (NAV). You never see a bill. The price quoted on every exchange is already net of fees. There's no "fee day" to avoid; the cost is continuous and built into the trading price. ### Why does FEM cost more than a fund like VOO? FEM's strategy (current expense ratio 0.80%) is different from a broad-market index tracker like VOO, so its fee belongs to a different cohort. The Cost Verdict card above shows you where FEM sits within its own category, which is the comparison that actually matters. ### Are there cheaper alternatives to FEM? The Lower-Fee Alternatives card above lists ETFs following the same investment strategy as FEM (0.80%) but at a lower expense ratio. Each row shows the fee gap, the peer's AUM as a liquidity sanity-check, and a direct link to that fund's analysis page. Cheaper price doesn't automatically mean better. Verify the peer holds what you actually want. ## More on Dividend Data - Overview (HTML): https://www.dividenddata.com/funds/fem - Distribution history: https://www.dividenddata.com/funds/fem/dividend - Holdings & diversification: https://www.dividenddata.com/funds/fem/diversification - Fees & cheaper alternatives: https://www.dividenddata.com/funds/fem/expenses - Peer comparison: https://www.dividenddata.com/funds/fem/peers Data sourced from primary filings and market data providers; see https://www.dividenddata.com/methodology.