DFAE vs XCEM: Differences, Returns & Fees
DFAE and XCEM hold 53% of their weight in the same names, and XCEM returned +43.8% over the year. Net assets: $9.5bn on Jul 31, 2026 for Dimensional Emerging Core Equity Market ETF, and $2.1bn on Jun 30, 2026 for Columbia EM Core ex-China ETF.
XCEM costs 0.13 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 17.8 points.
| DFAE | XCEM | |
|---|---|---|
| Expense ratio | 0.29% | 0.16% |
| Net assets, DFAE as of Jul 31, 2026 and XCEM as of Jun 30, 2026 | $9.5bn | $2.1bn |
| Total return, 1 year | +26.0% | +43.8% |
| What it tracks | No index, actively managed | Beta Thematic Emerging Markets ex-China Index |
| Holdings in common | 53% | |
| Top ten holdings, share of the fund | 30.5% | 37.4% |
| Below its high | 5.0%, high on Jun 22, 2026 | 6.4%, high on Jun 22, 2026 |
Holdings in common uses holdings dated Jun 30, 2026 and Jul 31, 2026.
What they hold in common
By the books each fund has filed, DFAE and XCEM hold 53% 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 Jun 30, 2026 and Jul 31, 2026.
half
53% in common
On the same fields
DFAE and XCEM on the fields both publish, as of Oct 9, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
DFAE in plain words
DFAE is actively managed and tracks no index. Over the year to Oct 9, 2026 it returned +26.0% with distributions reinvested, against +17.3% for the S&P 500. 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.
XCEM in plain words
XCEM tracks an index. Over the year to Oct 9, 2026 it returned +43.8% with distributions reinvested, against +17.3% for the S&P 500. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.16% a year. By its holdings filed for Jun 30, 2026, 0% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 449 positions, with the top ten at 37.4%. It sat 6.4% below its high of Jun 22, 2026 on Oct 9, 2026.
Questions people ask
- Which returned more over the last year, DFAE or XCEM?
- In the year to Oct 9, 2026, with distributions reinvested, DFAE returned +26.0% and XCEM +43.8%.
- Which is cheaper, DFAE or XCEM?
- XCEM is cheaper, by 0.13 percentage points a year. That is about $13 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.
Cite this pageCitation, APA and Markdown
ETFIQ, DFAE against XCEM, data as of Oct 9, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/dfae-vs-xcem
ETFIQ. (Oct 9, 2026). DFAE against XCEM. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/any/dfae-vs-xcem
[DFAE against XCEM (ETFIQ, Oct 9, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/any/dfae-vs-xcem)
Free to use with attribution for figures ETFIQ computes; issuer data stays under its owner's terms.