For years, the iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF (NYSEArca: EEM) was the most widely recognized and largest emerging markets exchange traded fund.
Home to $32.2 billion in assets under management, EEM is still one of the largest ETFs on the market and it is the second-largest emerging markets ETF behind the Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets ETF (NYSEArca: VWO), but investors have steadily been departing EEM for other emerging markets ETFs.
In 2014, EEM suffered $5.4 billion of outflows, the second-worst total among all U.S. ETFs, but that may more a case of changing investor preferences, not outright abandonment of emerging markets ETFs, reports Chris Dieterich for Barron’s.
Nor do outflows from EEM mean investors are leaving iShares emerging markets ETFs. While EEM has already lost over $1 billion since the start of this year, the iShares MSCI Emerging Markets Minimum Volatility ETF (NYSEArca: EEMV) has added over $34 million in new assets.
EEMV tracks the 200 least volatile stocks from the MSCI Emerging Markets Index. The ETF debuted in October 2011 and now with almost $2 billion in assets, has outperformed EEM for three consecutive years. [Low Vol ETF Advantage]