EMDM

First Trust Bloomberg Emerging Market Democracies ETF

First Trust · $39.6m in assets, October 8, 2026

EMDM, the First Trust Bloomberg Emerging Market Democracies ETF, is a $40 million ETF whose main story is dollar displacement. Over the past year it returned +52.7%, against +16.8% for broad US ETFs. Figures to October 2, 2026; past performance, not a recommendation.

EMDM · the ETFFRI OCT 2Market price total return
+27.0% a yearTotal return since launch, March 2023
+52.7%Last 12 months
+36.0%Year to date
21.2%Volatility since launch

The narrative it carries

This is its only narrative.

Dollar displacement →

Stocks and bonds outside the United States, and the dollar that sets what they are worth to a US holder.

Dollar displacement · the narrative this week
41.5WARM level, 19 of 22
last four weeks
641ETFs carry it
35.5%held by the top five
VEAlargest holder, 9.6%
$2,497 bncapital, 1st of 22

The band is where this narrative’s level sits among the 22 this week. QUIET means less talked about, not falling.

Who owns the capital
VEA 9.6%IEFA 7.7%VXUS 6.6%IEMG 6.5%VWO 5.1%636 other ETFs 64.5%35.5%top five
#ETFSHAREASSETS1 YEARCOST
1VEA9.6%$235.49bn+20.7%0.03%
2IEFA7.7%$190.21bn+14.1%0.07%
3VXUS6.6%$162.13bn+18.2%0.05%
4IEMG6.5%$160.08bn+26.5%0.09%
5VWO5.1%$125.81bn+11.4%0.06%
636 other ETFs64.5%
EMDM: 0.0%

Share is each ETF’s slice of the capital carrying this narrative. 1 year is market price total return; cost is the expense ratio. See all 641 ETFs on the narrative page →

FRI OCT 2MARKET PRICE TOTAL RETURN

1M3MYTD1Y3Y*5Y*
EMDM+0.3%+2.6%+36.0%+52.7%+33.9%–
Dollar displacementits narrative−1.6%+1.2%+14.8%+19.3%+21.1%+9.9%
The marketbroad US ETFs+0.8%+2.6%+14.6%+16.8%+22.9%+12.9%

1M, 3M, 1Y, 3Y, 5Y: one month to five years. YTD: year to date. * A year, annualised. A dash means the ETF has not traded for the whole period. Since it started trading on March 3, 2023: +27.0% a year.

$10,000 invested March 31, 2023

EMDM $23,641Dollar displacement $17,457The market $19,486
$0$10,000$20,000$30,000Mar 2023Mar 2024Mar 2025Mar 2026$0$10,000$20,000$30,000Mar 2023Mar 2025

Year by year

EMDMDollar displacementThe market
-20%0%20%40%60%EMDM 2024: -5.0%Narrative 2024: +5.8%The market 2024: +23.1%2024EMDM 2025: +59.7%Narrative 2025: +31.7%The market 2025: +16.8%2025EMDM YTD: +36.0%Narrative YTD: +14.8%The market YTD: +14.6%YTD-20%0%20%40%60%EMDM 2024: -5.0%Narrative 2024: +5.8%The market 2024: +23.1%2024EMDM 2025: +59.7%Narrative 2025: +31.7%The market 2025: +16.8%2025EMDM YTD: +36.0%Narrative YTD: +14.8%The market YTD: +14.6%YTD

Total return in each calendar year; this year is year to date. A year appears only if EMDM traded for all of it.

Total return on the market price, with each distribution reinvested on its ex-date. Not the NAV return the issuer publishes; the two differ when the ETF trades above or below the value of its holdings. The narrative is the asset-weighted return of the unlevered ETFs that carry it. The market is the asset-weighted return of broad US index ETFs. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

Common questions

What story is EMDM selling?

EMDM’s main story is dollar displacement, which covers stocks and bonds outside the United States, and the dollar that sets what they are worth to a US holder.

Which ETFs compete with EMDM?

The ETFs whose weekly returns move most like EMDM’s over the past 3 years are FRDM (0.96), EMOP (0.96) and REMG (0.96).

How has EMDM performed against its story?

Over the past year EMDM returned +52.7%, the ETFs carrying dollar displacement +19.3% and broad US ETFs +16.8%, to October 2, 2026. Its weekly returns have a correlation of 0.89 with the story. Past performance only.

Run an ETF in dollar displacement? StoryVector shows issuers where their ETFs stand against the closest rivals, every week.

Request a pilot
Narrative figures are from the weekly board. Performance is market price total return as of October 2, 2026. Assets are StoryVector’s weekly figure. Classification and measurement. Not investment advice. How the measurement works →