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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?

For a long time now, the ETF industry has been flooded with products based on market capitalization weighted indexes, which are designed to represent the broader market or a particular market segment.

A good option for investors who believe in market efficiency, market cap weighted indexes offer 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.

Non-cap weighted indexes try to choose stocks that have a better chance of risk-return performance, which is based on specific fundamental characteristics, or a mix of other such characteristics.

Even though this space provides many choices to investors--think one of the simplest methodologies like equal-weighting and more complicated ones like fundamental and volatility/momentum based weighting--not all have been able to deliver first-rate results.

Fund Sponsor & Index

The fund is managed by Flexshares. TLTE has been able to amass assets over $240.88 million, making it one of the average sized ETFs in the Broad Emerging Market ETFs. This particular fund seeks to match the performance of the Morningstar Emerging Markets Factor Tilt Index before fees and expenses.

The Morningstar Emerging Markets Factor Tilt Index reflects the performance of a selection of equity securities designed to provide broad exposure to the global emerging equities markets, with increased exposure to small-capitalization stocks and value stocks.

Cost & Other Expenses

When considering an ETF's total return, expense ratios are an important factor. And, cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive cousins in the long term if all other factors remain equal.

Annual operating expenses for TLTE are 0.59%, which makes it on par with most peer products in the space.

It's 12-month trailing dividend yield comes in at 4.03%.

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.

Taking into account individual holdings, Samsung Electronics Co Ltd Common Stock Krw 100 (A005930) accounts for about 2.83% of the fund's total assets, followed by Alibaba Group Holding Ltd Common Stock Hkd (9988.HK) and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd Common.

Performance and Risk

Year-to-date, the FlexShares Morningstar Emerging Markets Factor Tilt ETF return is roughly 9.68% so far, and is down about -10.80% over the last 12 months (as of 01/23/2023). TLTE has traded between $41.69 and $60.21 in this past 52-week period.

The ETF has a beta of 0.78 and standard deviation of 23.30% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 2723 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 $71.72 billion in assets, Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets ETF has $74.26 billion. IEMG has an expense ratio of 0.09% and VWO charges 0.08%.

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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