VanEck Vectors Emerging Markets Aggregate Bond ETF (EMAG) is an exchange-traded fund that seeks to replicate as closely as possible, before fees and expenses, the price and yield performance of the MVIS Emerging Markets Aggregate Bond Index. The fund provides exposure to a broad spectrum of emerging markets fixed-income securities, including emerging market government bonds; quasi-sovereign bonds issued by government agencies, supranationals, and development banks; and corporate bonds denominated in both local and hard currencies such as U.S. dollars and euros. It employs a sampling strategy to construct its portfolio, investing at least 80% of its total assets in component securities of the benchmark index, which tracks investment-grade and high-yield bonds from emerging market issuers with at least $1 billion outstanding; the fund targets an average effective duration of three years or less and an average effective maturity of five years or less.
The underlying index encompasses bonds from over 25 emerging market countries across Asia, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, including key issuers from China, India, Brazil, Mexico, South Africa, and Indonesia; securities must have at least one year remaining to maturity and a minimum amount outstanding of $200 million. EMAG offers investors diversified access to emerging markets debt with a focus on USD-denominated investment-grade bonds supplemented by select high-yield and local currency instruments; it caters primarily to institutional and retail investors seeking income generation, portfolio diversification, and exposure to higher-yielding emerging economies relative to developed markets.
Managed by VanEck, founded in 1955 and headquartered in New York, the ETF operates globally with primary listings on the NYSE Arca exchange; VanEck serves as the investment adviser, with State Street Bank and Trust Company acting as custodian and transfer agent. Launched on December 7, 2017, EMAG maintains a competitive expense ratio of 0.39% and has assets under management exceeding $100 million as of late 2025. In recent developments, VanEck announced enhancements to its ETF suite in 2024, including index rebalancing to incorporate additional sustainable bond criteria amid growing ESG demand, and a strategic partnership with Morningstar to improve index methodology transparency; no major acquisitions or name changes have occurred within the last two years, though the firm expanded its emerging markets offerings with complementary active strategies in 2025.