Avantis Emerging Markets Equity ETF

AVEM

Market cap $22.4B

The S&P 500 is down 1.6% so far in 2026. Meanwhile, emerging markets are up sharply, developed international markets are outperforming, and a decade-long valuation gap between US and non-US equities is finally closing.

For nearly two decades, the playbook for U.S. investors was simple: Buy domestic tech and enjoy the ride. However, the conversation has shifted toward a long-overdue resurgence of international investing.

With no end in sight to the macroeconomic uncertainty on both the domestic and global fronts, is now the time to pivot to the flexibility of active ETFs? Many advisors and investors seem to think so.

Global conflict is on the rise in 2026, as it has been already in recent years. From Russia's invasion of Ukraine to the U.S. attacks on Venezuela and Iran, conflict has driven volatility increasingly higher.

China's tech sector spent three years in the penalty box after Beijing's 2021 regulatory crackdown erased trillions in market value.

It's no secret that investors are clamoring for ex-U.S. equities right now. Flows into international equities set a record in January.

As U.S. fund outflows hit a 16-year high and volatility spikes, emerging market ETFs offer a path to diversification and growth.

Emerging markets equities investing continues to be a top theme. Following a standout year in 2025, investors have flooded ex-U.S. equities with dollars, setting records for inflows in January.

iShares MSCI USA Value Factor ETF (NYSEARCA:VLUE) targets a specific investor problem: capturing value stock outperformance without the concentration risk of individual stock picking.

Most emerging market ETFs are built around the same assumption: that China's economy and equity markets will drive returns for decades.