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Is FlexShares Morningstar Emerging Markets Factor Tilt ETF (TLTE) a Strong ETF Right Now?

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Launched on 09/25/2012, the FlexShares Morningstar Emerging Markets Factor Tilt ETF (TLTE - Free Report) is a smart beta exchange traded fund offering broad exposure to the Broad Emerging Market ETFs category of the market.

What Are Smart Beta ETFs?

The ETF industry has long been dominated by products based on market cap weighted indexes, a strategy created to reflect the market or a particular market segment.

Market cap weighted indexes work great for investors who believe in market efficiency. They provide a low-cost, convenient and transparent way of replicating market returns.

But, there are some investors who would rather invest in smart beta funds; these funds track non-cap weighted strategies, and are a strong option for those who prefer choosing great stocks in order to beat the market.

This kind of index follows this same mindset, as it attempts to pick stocks that have better chances of risk-return performance; non-cap weighted strategies base selection on certain fundamental characteristics, or a mix of such characteristics.

Methodologies like equal-weighting, one of the simplest options out there, fundamental weighting, and volatility/momentum based weighting are all choices offered to investors in this space, but not all of them can deliver superior returns.

Fund Sponsor & Index

Managed by Flexshares, TLTE has amassed assets over $337.87 million, making it one of the average sized ETFs in the Broad Emerging Market ETFs. Before fees and expenses, TLTE seeks to match the performance of the Morningstar Emerging Markets Factor Tilt Index.

This Index measures the performance of stocks located in emerging countries across the world with increased exposure to small-capitalization and value stocks. Stocks that are deemed to be small-capitalization or small-value have an overweighting in the index compared to their weight in a corresponding market-capitalization-weighted index.

Cost & Other Expenses

Expense ratios are an important factor in the return of an ETF and in the long-term, cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive cousins, other things remaining the same.

With on par with most peer products in the space, this ETF has annual operating expenses of 0.59%.

The fund has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 1.90%.

Sector Exposure and Top Holdings

Even though ETFs offer diversified exposure that minimizes single stock risk, investors should also look at the actual holdings inside the fund. Luckily, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.

Looking at individual holdings, Samsung Electronics Co Ltd Common Stock Krw 100 (A005930) accounts for about 3.09% of total assets, followed by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd Common and Tencent Holdings Ltd Common Stock Hkd 0.00002 (0700.HK).

Its top 10 holdings account for approximately 13.82% of TLTE's total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

The ETF has gained about 6.25% so far this year and was up about 21.77% in the last one year (as of 11/09/2021). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $52.06 and $66.54.

The fund has a beta of 0.87 and standard deviation of 22.07% for the trailing three-year period, which makes TLTE a medium risk choice in this particular space. With about 2622 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

FlexShares Morningstar Emerging Markets Factor Tilt ETF is not a suitable option for investors seeking to outperform the Broad Emerging Market ETFs segment of the market. Instead, there are other ETFs in the space which investors should consider.

IShares Core MSCI Emerging Markets ETF (IEMG - Free Report) tracks MSCI Emerging Markets Investable Market Index and the Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets ETF (VWO - Free Report) tracks FTSE Emerging Markets All Cap China A Inclusion Index. IShares Core MSCI Emerging Markets ETF has $80.24 billion in assets, Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets ETF has $81.40 billion. IEMG has an expense ratio of 0.11% and VWO charges 0.10%.

Investors looking for cheaper and lower-risk options should consider traditional market cap weighted ETFs that aim to match the returns of the Broad Emerging Market ETFs.

Bottom Line

To learn more about this product and other ETFs, screen for products that match your investment objectives and read articles on latest developments in the ETF investing universe, please visit Zacks ETF Center.

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