SPDR Portfolio Emerging Markets ETF

SPDR Portfolio Emerging Markets ETF (SPEM) is a State Street index fund that tracks the S&P Emerging BMI Index, a broad basket of publicly traded companies in more than 20 developing economies, from Taiwan and India to Brazil and South Africa. Its 0.07% expense ratio ties with Vanguard's VWO for the lowest among similar funds. One stock dominates: Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing made up about 14.7% of the fund as of June 30, 2026.

• Over the year to Nov 2, 2026, SPEM returned +5.0%, 7th of 9 among similar funds.
• Its 5-year annualized return was +5.6% and its 10-year +7.6%.
• In the 2020 COVID crash it fell 30.5% and regained its old high 4.4 months after the low.
• Its worst full calendar year was 2008 (-50.2%); its best was 2009 (+71.7%).
• The deepest fall in its price history was 64.7% (Oct 31, 2007 to Nov 20, 2008), recovered by Dec 28, 2017.

As of Jun 30, 2026, the fund held 2,959 securities; the ten largest made up 26.33% of assets.

• Over the three months to Jun 30, 2026, investors withdrew a net $277.3M (creations minus redemptions, per the N-PORT report).
• Monthly total returns reported for that quarter: +10.26%, +4.06%, -1.19%.

SPEM follows the S&P Emerging BMI Index, which S&P Dow Jones Indices builds and runs. S&P Dow Jones Indices is not affiliated with the fund. The index is the emerging-markets slice of the wider S&P Global BMI. An S&P committee reviews each year which countries count as emerging. A company gets in if its float-adjusted market value is at least $100 million and its shares trade often enough. Once in, it stays as long as that value is at least $75 million. "Float-adjusted" means only shares the public can actually buy are counted. Each stock is weighted by that value, so the largest companies count the most.

The fund uses sampling, so it doesn't have to own every stock in the index. The index had 7,216 securities as of November 30, 2025. The fund held 2,959 as of June 30, 2026. At least 80% of its assets go into index stocks or depositary receipts. These are certificates, such as ADRs, that trade on other exchanges and stand for shares of foreign companies. The fund may use futures contracts to manage cash coming in and going out. As of June 30, 2026, derivatives were 0.02% of assets and cash was 1.65%.

The index is rebuilt every September and checked each quarter for new listings. Portfolio turnover was 1%. Because weights follow company size, the fund can become "non-diversified," with a large share of assets in a few names.

• SPEM charges 0.07% a year, versus an average of 0.28% for the similar funds below (1st of 9, cheapest first).
• Using the prospectus's standard example, $10,000 invested would cost about $7 in the first year and $90 over 10 years (assuming a 5% annual return).

It adds thousands of companies in Taiwan, India, China and other developing economies that a US-focused portfolio usually leaves out, at a very low cost.

SPEM costs 0.07% a year. In the SEC's standard example, that comes to about $90 over 10 years on $10,000. The trade-off is deep, sometimes long, losses. The fund fell 64.7% between October 2007 and November 2008. It did not get back to its old high until December 2017, about 109 months later. Its worst calendar year was 2008, a loss of 50.2%. It dropped 30.5% in the 2020 COVID crash and recovered in about four months. In 2022 it fell 27.8% and took about 23.5 months to recover. Anyone who has to sell shares or draw income during a slump like these would lock in losses.

The trailing 12-month yield was 2.63% as of October 29, 2026, paid twice a year. Past results don't predict the future, and a plan should look at the whole portfolio, not one fund.

Matched by holdings overlap from the latest N-PORT reports.