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Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets UCITS ETF (USD) DistributingIndex, costs, backtest, listings and taxation

ISIN: IE00B3VVMM84Ticker: VFEMIssuer: Vanguard
Issuer-declared data
Declared index
FTSE Emerging Index
TER
0.17%
Transaction costs
0.08% (issuer estimate, from the KID)
Management
Passive (index-tracking) (from the KID)
Replication
Physical (from the KID)
Income policy
SFDR
Article 6 — does not promote specific ESG characteristics — inferred (issuer documents do not declare art. 8/9) what does it mean?
Fund assets
5.1 bn EUR
Domicile
Ireland
Inception date
22 May 2012
Data as declared by Vanguard in the issuer’s official files and endpoints · collected on 2 September 2026 (monthly refresh). Facts only, no recommendation.
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Description

Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets UCITS ETF (USD) Distributing tracks the issuer-declared index: FTSE Emerging Index. The declared annual cost (TER) is 0.17%, plus 0.08% in transaction costs estimated by the issuer in the KID. Income is distributed to investors. The fund has assets of about 5.1 billion euro, was launched on 22 May 2012 and is domiciled in Ireland. In our registry it is the largest by assets among the 2 ETFs declaring the same index.

The fund’s objective — in the issuer’s words

The Fund employs a passive management – or indexing – investment approach, through physical acquisition of securities, and seeks to track the performance of the FTSE Emerging Index (the “Index”). The Index is comprised of large and mid-sized company stocks in emerging markets. The Fund attempts to: 1. Track the performance of the Index by investing through physical acquisition in all the constituents of the Index, making the weight of such investments approximate the Index. Where not practicable to fully replicate, the Fund will use a sampling process. 2. Remain fully invested except in extraordinary market, political or similar conditions where the Fund may temporarily depart from this investment policy to avoid losses. The Fund invests in securities which are denominated in currencies other than the base currency. Movements in currency exchange rates can affect the return of investments. The Fund may engage in short term secured lending of its investments to certain eligible third parties. This is used as a means of generating additional income and to off-set the costs of the Fund. While the Fund is expected to track the Index as closely as possible, it typically will not match the performance of the targeted Index exactly, due to various factors such as expenses to be paid by the Fund and regulatory constraints. Details of these factors and the anticipated tracking error of the Fund are set out in the Prospectus. Information on the Fund's portfolio can be found at https://www.ie.vanguard/products. The Indicative Net Asset Value for the Fund is calculated throughout the trading day and is published on Bloomberg or Reuters. The Fund may use derivatives in order to reduce risk or cost and/or generate extra income or growth. A derivative is a financial contract whose value is based on the value of a financial asset (such as a share, bond, or currency) or a market index. ETF Shares in the Fund can be bought or sold on a daily basis (save on certain bank holidays or public holidays and subject to certain restrictions described in the Prospectus). ETF Shares are listed on one or more stock exchange(s). Subject to certain exceptions set out in the Prospectus, investors who are not Authorised Participants may only buy or sell ETF Shares through a company that is a member of a relevant stock exchange at any time when that stock exchange is open for business. A list of the days on which shares in the Fund cannot be bought or sold is available on: https://fund-docs.vanguard.com/holiday-calendar-vanguard-funds-plcETFs.pdf Income from the ETF Shares will be paid out. VF is an umbrella Fund with segregated liability between sub-funds. This means that the holdings of the Fund are maintained separately under Irish law from holdings of other sub-funds of VF and your investment in the Fund will not be affected by any claims against any other sub-fund of VF.

Keep reading the KID section ▾

Intended retail investor:The Fund is available to a wide range of investors seeking access to a portfolio managed in accordance with a specific investment objective and policy. The VF depositary is Brown Brothers Harriman Trustee Services (Ireland) Limited. You can obtain copies of the Prospectus and the latest annual and semiannual report and accounts for Vanguard Funds plc (“VF”) along with the latest published prices of shares and other practical information, from VF c/o Brown Brothers Harriman Fund Administration Services (Ireland) Limited, 30 Herbert Street, Dublin 2, D02 W329, Ireland or from our website at https://global.vanguard.com. Information on the Fund's portfolio disclosure policy and publication of the iNAV can be obtained at https://global.vanguard.com/portal/site/portal/ucits-documentation. The documents are available in English and are free of charge.

From the KID’s “Objectives” section · 4 August 2026 · original document ↓
Text generated from the data the issuer declares in official product lists. No recommendation.

Quick reads

  • TER 0.17%: below the median of equity ETFs we track (0.22%).
  • Assets larger than 92% of equity ETFs we track.
  • Average tracking difference over the last 3 years: -0.47% p.a., against a declared TER of 0.17%.
Comparisons computed by Rebalix on the declared data in our census; they describe the past and are not indicative of future results.

Official documents

Key Information Document (KID)PDF in English, from the issuer’s site — always the latest filed versionProspectusPDF in English, from the issuer’s site — the fund’s full legal documentFactsheetPDF in English, from the issuer’s site — the fund’s monthly snapshot
The KID is the document the law requires you to read before investing: 3 pages covering risks, costs and scenarios. The link opens the issuer’s published PDF.

Fund performance

issuer-declared net asset value (NAV) · USD · from Jun 2012 to Jul 2026
Compare with another ETF
Only funds we hold a history for. Three at a time, at most.
Return
+124.7%
Annualised
+5.9%
Volatility (ann.)
15.6%
Max drawdown
-32.83%
-16%+22%+59%+97%+134%Jun 2012Dec 2015Jul 2019Jan 2023Jul 2026The break-even line: the value at the start of the period. Above it you are in gain, below in loss.break-even (0%)+125%Jun 2012Jul 2026
Note — currency risk: the fund is denominated (or hedged) in USD and the chart is in USD. For a euro investor, returns also depend on the EUR/USD exchange rate, up or down.
Tip: drag across the chart to zoom into a period.

Drawdown — distance from previous peak

This isn’t the return: it shows how far the fund is below its previous peak. 0% = you’re at the peak; below zero = how much you’re down and haven’t recovered yet.
0%-10%-20%-30%-40%-50%20122014201620182020202220242026−32.83% · 31 Oct 2022
Max drawdown
-32.83%
peak → trough
Trough
31 Oct 2022
from the 31 May 2021 peak
Recovery time
973 days
recovery only: trough to break-even · ≈ 2 years and 8 months
Underwater
1,491 days
decline + recovery: peak to break-even · ≈ 4 years and 1 month · → recovered on 30 Jun 2025

The five worst falls in the period

From the peak ofTroughDepthBack to break-evenDays underwater
31 May 202131 Oct 2022-32.83%30 Jun 20251,491
31 Aug 201429 Feb 2016-29.20%31 Jul 20171,065
31 Jan 201831 Mar 2020-27.95%30 Nov 20201,034
31 Jan 201331 Aug 2013-13.18%30 Jun 2014515
28 Feb 202631 Mar 2026-10.00%31 May 202692

Calendar-year returns

2016
12.8%
2017
31.9%
2018
-13.5%
2019
19.7%
2020
14.7%
2021
-0.7%
2022
-17.5%
2023
7.9%
2024
12.1%
2025
25.7%
2026
9.8%

Month-by-month returns

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSeptOctNovDecYear
20265.72.5-10.010.03.6-1.70.69.8
20250.90.50.80.83.84.51.92.16.31.8-1.71.625.7
2024-3.54.11.61.71.12.90.51.58.2-3.5-3.00.512.1
20237.0-6.12.6-1.1-2.54.06.1-5.5-2.0-3.76.73.37.9
2022-0.4-3.7-1.3-5.20.1-5.4-1.01.0-10.5-4.214.0-0.8-17.5
20213.31.0-1.62.52.5-0.0-6.63.2-3.41.1-3.71.6-0.7
2020-4.6-5.0-16.49.21.07.38.92.1-2.02.48.16.014.7
20198.20.51.42.3-6.25.5-0.5-4.51.24.20.26.919.7
20188.8-4.2-2.9-0.8-3.6-4.03.3-3.5-0.6-7.54.1-2.6-13.5
20174.63.22.01.91.60.55.82.9-1.02.50.24.131.9
2016-6.5-0.113.30.9-3.74.75.01.71.01.3-4.80.712.8
20150.83.1-2.07.9-3.4-2.4-6.7-9.4-3.86.3-3.6-2.1-15.5
2014-6.73.03.90.33.83.32.02.9-7.12.1-0.8-4.71.1
20132.2-2.3-1.51.5-3.0-6.20.5-2.86.65.1-2.1-1.4-4.0
20121.6-0.26.0-0.50.95.213.5
From month-end NAVs, over the fund’s full history, on the series shown in the chart (dividends reinvested where declared). Deeper colour = larger move.
Issuer-declared series with dividends reinvested: the total performance, comparable with accumulating funds. Switch it off to see the price (NAV) alone, which drops at every dividend payment.
Source: Vanguard. Issuer-declared historical series; inflation: Eurostat and national statistical institutes, latest available July 2026 — for later days the index stays at the last published value (institutes publish with a few weeks’ lag). The «adjusted for inflation» view expresses value in today’s purchasing power for the selected country; volatility always stays nominal, as elsewhere on the site (deflating it would add artificial swings caused by the monthly cadence of the price index). Past performance is not indicative of future results: these are facts, not a recommendation.

Tracking difference — fund vs index

How much the fund returned above (+) or below (−) its index, year by year. It measures the actual deviation: the combined effect of costs (TER and transaction), securities-lending revenue and replication optimisations — which is why it can beat the TER. Tracking difference was positive in 0 of the last 8 calendar years: a past observation, not an indication of future outperformance.
Average TD (last 3 years)
-0.47% /anno
Declared TER
0.17%
YearFundIndexDifference
2025+25.67%+26.01%-0.34%
2024+12.06%+12.35%-0.29%
2023+7.86%+8.64%-0.78%
2021-0.66%-0.24%-0.43%
2020+14.66%+15.12%-0.47%
2019+19.66%+20.10%-0.44%
2018-13.50%-13.34%-0.16%
2016+12.76%+13.14%-0.39%
Monthly index series (issuer-declared): the yearly TD compounds the 12 months. Total-return figures from issuer-declared series (primary source); complete calendar years. TD is not comparable across sites using different methodologies or index variants. Past performance is not indicative of future results. What is tracking difference? →

Risk indicators· EUR

Last yearLast 3 yearsLast 5 yearsLast 10 yearsFull history
Volatility (ann.)14.19%13.72%14.24%15.00%15.87%
Max drawdown-9.52%-17.30%-23.31%-31.41%-37.28%
Sharpe1.080.630.140.290.27
Sortino1.560.870.200.390.37
Computed from the daily NAV series, always in nominal terms. Sharpe and Sortino use the ECB main refinancing rate averaged over the period (last year: 2.20%), weighted by days in force, as the risk-free rate. Same formulas as our public methodology: sample standard deviation annualised over 252 days; Sortino with downside deviation. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Figures in EUR — series converted day by day at ECB reference rates; the table follows the currency selected in the chart.

Portfolio holdings

Securities in portfolio
2,420
Top-10 weight
29.9%

Top 10 holdings

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd · 2330
16.99%
Tencent Holdings Ltd · 700
3.53%
Alibaba Group Holding Ltd · 9988
2.54%
MediaTek Inc · 2454
1.51%
China Construction Bank Corp · 939
0.97%
US Dollar · USD
0.91%
Delta Electronics Inc · 2308
0.91%
Hon Hai Precision Industry Co Ltd · 2317
0.88%
Reliance Industries Ltd · RELIANCE
0.86%
HDFC Bank Ltd · HDFCB
0.83%

Sectors

Technology
34.6%
Financials
21.7%
Consumer Discretionary
9.4%
Industrials
8.0%
Basic Materials
6.3%
Energy
4.6%
Telecommunications
3.9%

Countries

AfghanistanAngolaAlbaniaUnited Arab Emirates: 1.6%ArgentinaArmeniaFrench Southern and Antarctic LandsAustraliaAustriaAzerbaijanBurundiBelgiumBeninBurkina FasoBangladeshBulgariaThe BahamasBosnia and HerzegovinaBelarusBelizeBoliviaBrazil: 4.5%BruneiBhutanBotswanaCentral African RepublicCanadaSwitzerlandChile: 0.7%China: 27.9%Ivory CoastCameroonDemocratic Republic of the CongoRepublic of the CongoColombia: 0.3%Costa RicaCubaCyprusCzech Republic: 0.2%GermanyDjiboutiDenmarkDominican RepublicAlgeriaEcuadorEgypt: 0.1%EritreaSpainEstoniaEthiopiaFinlandFijiFalkland IslandsFranceGabonUnited KingdomGeorgiaGhanaGuineaGambiaGuinea BissauEquatorial GuineaGreece: 0.9%GreenlandGuatemalaFrench GuianaGuyanaHondurasCroatiaHaitiHungary: 0.5%Indonesia: 0.7%India: 16.2%IrelandIranIraqIceland: 0.1%IsraelItalyJamaicaJordanJapanKazakhstanKenyaKyrgyzstanCambodiaSouth KoreaKosovoKuwait: 0.7%LaosLebanonLiberiaLibyaSri LankaLesothoLithuaniaLuxembourgLatviaMoroccoMoldovaMadagascarMexico: 2.3%MacedoniaMaliMyanmarMontenegroMongoliaMozambiqueMauritaniaMalawiMalaysia: 1.6%NamibiaNew CaledoniaNigerNigeriaNicaraguaNetherlandsNorwayNepalNew ZealandOmanPakistanPanamaPeruPhilippines: 0.4%Papua New GuineaPolandPuerto RicoNorth KoreaPortugalParaguayQatar: 0.6%Romania: 0.2%RussiaRwandaWestern SaharaSaudi Arabia: 3.1%SudanSouth SudanSenegalSolomon IslandsSierra LeoneEl SalvadorSomaliaRepublic of SerbiaSurinameSlovakiaSloveniaSwedenSwazilandSyriaChadTogoThailand: 1.6%TajikistanTurkmenistanEast TimorTrinidad and TobagoTunisiaTurkeyTaiwan: 31.4%United Republic of TanzaniaUgandaUkraineUruguayUnited States of AmericaUzbekistanVenezuelaVietnamVanuatuWest BankYemenSouth Africa: 3.7%ZambiaZimbabwe
up to 1%1–5%5–15%15–30%over 30%
Hover a country for its percentage.
Top 7 countries
Taiwan31.4%
China27.9%
India16.2%
Brazil4.5%
South Africa3.7%
Saudi Arabia3.1%
Mexico2.3%
⬇ Download the full portfolio — Excel, 2,420 rows
Full portfolio declared by Vanguard, as of 31 July 2026: this is the summary. Percentages may not sum to 100 due to cash, derivatives and rounding.
Fund historyFund-assets (AUM) chart year by year and monthly basket snapshots.Open the history →

Dividends

Frequency
Quarterly
Latest dividend
0.571 USD
ex 18 Jun 2026 · paid 1 Jul 2026
Dividends, last 12 months
1.69 USD
Dividend yield
2.03%
12-month sum over the NAV as of 3 Sept 2026

Yield by year

PeriodDividendsDividend yield
1 year1.69 USD2.40 %
20251.76 USD2.87 %
20241.46 USD2.61 %
20231.44 USD2.71 %
20221.75 USD2.62 %
20211.53 USD2.24 %

Dividend contribution to total return

-30%-20%-10%0%10%20%30%+20.47 %1 year+25.39 %2025+11.97 %2024+7.77 %2023−17.45 %2022−0.59 %2021
dividendsprice changeprice decline

Calendar per share (USD)

YearJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
20260.260.57
20250.320.580.530.33
20240.150.490.650.17
20230.170.420.670.18
20220.150.620.740.24
20210.110.400.630.38
20200.200.260.650.13
20190.160.480.640.15
20180.200.360.720.21
20170.140.360.730.12
20160.100.260.680.11
20150.110.340.640.19
20140.150.460.660.17
20130.100.530.550.11
20120.260.440.09

Latest dividends

Per shareEx-dividend dateRecord datePayment
0.571 USD18 Jun 202619 Jun 20261 Jul 2026
0.2624 USD19 Mar 202620 Mar 20261 Apr 2026
0.3273 USD18 Dec 202519 Dec 202531 Dec 2025
0.5306 USD18 Sept 202519 Sept 20251 Oct 2025
0.5803 USD19 Jun 202520 Jun 20252 Jul 2025
0.3174 USD20 Mar 202521 Mar 20252 Apr 2025
0.1657 USD12 Dec 202413 Dec 202427 Dec 2024
0.6505 USD12 Sept 202413 Sept 202425 Sept 2024
Per-share dividends as declared by the issuer, in USD, since the first payment (27 Jun 2012). Past dividends are not indicative of future ones.

ETFs declaring the same index

FundTERIncomeFund size
VFEA · Vanguard
0.17%Acc.5.1 mld EUR
2 ETFs in our census declare this index (including this fund). Funds declaring the exact same index, word for word, in official product lists. Differently-worded variants (or other index versions) are not shown: a short list beats a wrong match. Sorted by TER. A dash “—” = not declared by the issuer in the files we read — not a zero.

Italian taxation

Effective rate on capital gains
26.00%
White-list share
not applicable
Equity fund per the issuer-declared asset class: it cannot hold «white list» government bonds, so capital gains are taxed at the full 26% Italian rate. That is why the issuer publishes no semi-annual certificate.
Deep-dive into this fund’s taxation →

Where it shows up commission-free in Italy

According to the official lists published by the brokers (downloaded and cross-checked by us), these share classes of the fund appear tradable with zero fees:

IE00B3VVMM84
  • Directazero on single buys from 2,500 €, agreement until 31 December 2026
  • XTBzero (up to €100,000 monthly volume, unreachable for a retail plan); fractions available in plans
Full terms, traps and method in the observatory: Free savings plans and zero-commission ETFs: the broker survey

Official lists verified on 3 September 2026. We record published terms — this is neither an invitation to open accounts nor a recommendation: lists change, the broker’s documents prevail. Trade Republic, Scalable Capital and Trading 212 publish no per-ISIN lists and don’t appear here.

Stock exchange listings

ExchangeTickerTrading since
Borsa Italiana (ETFplus)VFEM18 Jan 2019
Börse Düsseldorf—7 Sept 2017
Börse Frankfurt—26 Oct 2017
Börse Hamburg—19 Oct 2016
Börse Hannover—9 Dec 2024
Börse München / gettex—21 Jan 2015
Börse Stuttgart—9 Nov 2017
Euronext AmsterdamVFEM4 Jun 2013
Euronext ParisVFEM4 Jun 2013
Tradegate Exchange—31 Oct 2017
Xetra (Deutsche Börse)VFEM26 Oct 2017
+ 18 more trading venues (MTFs and professional platforms).
Trading venues from the official ESMA register (FIRDS); per-exchange tickers from the issuer’s tax documents and official listings. A dash “—” = that venue does not publish the item (ticker, currency or start date) in the sources we read. The same fund may trade in different currencies depending on the exchange: check the trading currency with your broker. Non-EU listings (e.g. UK, Mexico) not included.

Frequently asked questions

Which index does Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets UCITS ETF (USD) Distributing track?
The issuer Vanguard declares the benchmark: FTSE Emerging Index.
How much does VFEM cost?
The issuer-declared TER is 0.17% per year; the transaction costs estimated in the KID are 0.08%.
What is the fund size of VFEM?
The fund size declared by Vanguard is about 5.1 billion euro.
When was VFEM launched?
The fund was launched on 22 May 2012: it has 14 years of history.
How does VFEM replicate its index?
It is a passively managed ETF: it follows the declared index. Physical (declared in the KID objectives).
Does VFEM pay dividends?
Yes: it is a distributing share class — income is paid out periodically (issuer wording: “Distributing Income”).
Where does VFEM trade?
Per the official ESMA register it trades on 11 main exchanges, including Borsa Italiana (ETFplus) (VFEM), Euronext Amsterdam (VFEM), Euronext Paris (VFEM), Xetra (Deutsche Börse) (VFEM).
What was VFEM's worst fall?
Over the available history (since 2014), the maximum drawdown was -39.12%, reached in March 2020. Past performance is not indicative of future results.
What is VFEM's tracking difference?
Over the last 3 complete calendar years the fund returned on average -0.47% per year versus its index (from issuer-declared series).
How many securities does VFEM hold?
The declared portfolio holds 2,420 securities; the top 10 positions weigh 29.9%.
Transparency note
The data in this sheet is declared by Vanguard in the issuer’s official files and endpoints, collected by Rebalix with a monthly refresh; taxation derives from the issuer’s tax documents (Italian Law Decree 138/2011). This is factual information for informational purposes only: it is not financial or tax advice, nor an investment recommendation. Read the fund’s KID and prospectus before investing.