DFAE vs DFEM: Differences, Returns & Fees
DFAE and DFEM hold 81% of their weight in the same names. Net assets on Jul 31, 2026: $9.5bn for Dimensional Emerging Core Equity Market ETF and $9.0bn for Dimensional Emerging Markets Core Equity 2 ETF.
DFAE costs 0.10 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 0.1 points.
| DFAE | DFEM | |
|---|---|---|
| Expense ratio | 0.29% | 0.39% |
| Net assets, as of Jul 31, 2026 | $9.5bn | $9.0bn |
| Total return, 1 year | +26.0% | +26.1% |
| What it tracks | No index, actively managed | No index, actively managed |
| Holdings in common | 81% | |
| Top ten holdings, share of the fund | 30.5% | 24.3% |
| Below its high | 5.0%, high on Jun 22, 2026 | 4.3%, high on Jun 22, 2026 |
Holdings in common uses holdings dated Jul 31, 2026.
What they hold in common
By the books each fund has filed, DFAE and DFEM hold 81% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Above 50%, holding both is close to holding one of them twice. Holdings dated Jul 31, 2026.
half
81% in common
On the same fields
DFAE and DFEM on the fields both publish, as of Oct 9, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
About DFAE
DFAE is actively managed and tracks no index. Over the year to Oct 9, 2026 it returned +26.0% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.29% a year. By its holdings filed for Jul 31, 2026, 0% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 6,272 positions, with the top ten at 30.5%. It sat 5.0% below its high of Jun 22, 2026 on Oct 9, 2026.
About DFEM
DFEM is actively managed and tracks no index. Over the year to Oct 9, 2026 it returned +26.1% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.39% a year. By its holdings filed for Jul 31, 2026, 0% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 6,672 positions, with the top ten at 24.3%. It sat 4.3% below its high of Jun 22, 2026 on Oct 9, 2026.
Questions people ask
- Which returned more over the last year, DFAE or DFEM?
- In the year to Oct 9, 2026, with distributions reinvested, DFAE returned +26.0% and DFEM +26.1%.
- Which is cheaper, DFAE or DFEM?
- DFAE is cheaper, by 0.10 percentage points a year. That is about $10 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
ETFIQ links to the documents behind every figure; a link is not an endorsement. A comparison is not a recommendation.
How this is computed
Overlap adds up the smaller of the two weights for each security both funds hold.
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ETFIQ, DFAE against DFEM, data as of Oct 9, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/dfae-vs-dfem
ETFIQ. (Oct 9, 2026). DFAE against DFEM. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/any/dfae-vs-dfem
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