Vanguard Emerging Markets Stock Index Fund Admiral Shares
Figures last verified October 31, 2026
Tracks the FTSE Emerging Markets All Cap China A Inclusion Index — China, India, Taiwan, Brazil, and other emerging economies.
Emerging markets are the asset class that looks best in a textbook and feels worst in a brokerage account: higher theoretical growth, brutal drawdowns, decade-long stretches of going nowhere, and political risk that can rewrite the rules overnight. VEMAX indexes the whole category — over 5,000 stocks, heavily weighted to China, India, and Taiwan — for 0.14%, which is dirt cheap for an asset class where active managers love to charge 1%+.
Most investors don't need this fund, because VTIAX and VTWAX already include emerging markets at market weight. VEMAX is for the investor who wants to deliberately overweight or underweight EM rather than accept the default. If that's you, keep the position small enough that a 40% drawdown — which this asset class delivers roughly once a decade — doesn't shake you out of it.
A dedicated, controllable emerging-markets allocation.
VEMAX alternatives & comparable funds
If you’re weighing VEMAX against the field, these are the funds most investors line it up against — same job, different provider, slightly different terms.
| Fund | Family | Expense Ratio | Minimum |
|---|---|---|---|
| VEMAX — Vanguard Emerging Markets … | Vanguard | 0.14% | $3,000 |
| FPADX — Fidelity Emerging Markets Index Fund | Fidelity | 0.075% | $0 |
| VTIAX — Vanguard Total Internation… | Vanguard | 0.09% | $3,000 |
| VFWAX — Vanguard FTSE All-World ex… | Vanguard | 0.08% | $3,000 |
Frequently asked questions
What is the expense ratio of VEMAX?
VEMAX (Vanguard Emerging Markets Stock Index Fund Admiral Shares) has an expense ratio of 0.14%, which works out to roughly $14 per year for every $10,000 invested. That is moderate — cheap for an actively managed fund, but several times what a comparable index fund charges.
What is the minimum investment for VEMAX?
VEMAX requires a minimum initial investment of $3,000.
What does VEMAX invest in?
Tracks the FTSE Emerging Markets All Cap China A Inclusion Index — China, India, Taiwan, Brazil, and other emerging economies. It falls in the emerging markets category and is an index fund.
What are good alternatives to VEMAX?
The funds most often compared with VEMAX are FPADX, VTIAX, VFWAX — broadly similar exposure from different providers, with small differences in fee, minimum, and portability that usually come down to which brokerage holds your account.
Expense ratio and minimum for VEMAX drawn from Vanguard fund documentation; last verified October 31, 2026. Figures change — confirm against the official prospectus before investing. This review is editorial opinion, not investment advice.