Best Performing Emerging Markets Stock Mutual Funds 2013

Discover best performing emerging markets stock mutual funds 2013. Top funds are T. Rowe Price Africa & Middle East Fund, Wasatch Frontier Emerging Small Countries Fund, and Harding Loevner Frontier Emerging Markets.

Top Mutual Funds

Emerging markets stock sector doesn’t perform very well in 2013. This article will look into the mutual funds which buck the trend. Some of these equity funds managed to achieve higher return and managed to get very close to S&P 500 index return. Emerging markets or developing markets countries may include China, Brazil, South Africa, Indonesia, India, Russia, Eastern Europe countries, Latin America, etc.

The top performing list is sorted based on its performance in 2013 (up to 12/31/2013). You can find the fund review, performance, expense ratio, dividend yield, fund’s NAV, management, info, etc.

The 10 best performing emerging markets stock mutual funds 2013 are:

1. Morgan Stanley Inst Frontier Em Mkts A
2. T. Rowe Price Africa & Middle East Fund
3. Wasatch Frontier Emerging Small Countries Inv
4. William Blair Emerging Markets Small Cap Growth N
5. HSBC Frontier Markets A
6. Harding Loevner Frontier Emerging Markets Inv
7. Baron Emerging Markets Retail
8. Driehaus Emerging Markets Small Cap Growth
9. Driehaus Emerging Markets Growth
10. Scout Emerging Markets

Updated on 1/18/2014

T. Rowe Price Africa & Middle East Fund (TRAMX)

T. Rowe Price Africa & Middle East Fund invests mainly in common stocks of companies located in Africa and the Middle East. This mutual fund has total assets of $188 million. Its expense fee is 1.47%. The current dividend yield is 1.44%. The current shares price is $9.04. The fund manager is Oliver D.M. Bell since 2011.

In 2013, this best performing emerging markets stock mutual fund has a return of 24.16%. The 3 year average return is 6.63%. This equity fund uses an investment style of mid growth. The top 3 stocks in its portfolio include Naspers Ltd, Mtn Group Limited, and Qatar National Bank SAQ.

Wasatch Frontier Emerging Small Countries Fund (WAFMX)

With a high expense ratio of 2.25%, Wasatch Frontier Emerging Small Countries Fund utilizes its assets to purchase equity of companies that are tied economically to frontier markets and small emerging market countries. Laura Geritz has managed this stock mutual fund since January 2012. Its total assets are $1.0 billion.

More: Top Mutual Funds 2013


In 2013, this best performing emerging markets stock mutual fund managed to achieve 18% return. It is among the top 2% in its category. The top 2 stocks are Viet Nam Dairy Products Joint Stock Company and East African Breweries Ltd. The top 3 sectors are consumer defensive, financial services, and consumer cyclical.

You can buy this WAFMX fund with $2,000 initial funding for your brokerage account or retirement accounts (traditional IRA or Roth IRA). You can buy from 40 brokerages including Merrill Lynch, JP Morgan NTF, Raymond James, Vanguard NTF, Scottrade NTF, etc.

Harding Loevner Frontier Emerging Markets Fund (HLMOX)

Ranked with 5 stars rating by Morningstar, Harding Loevner Frontier Emerging Markets fund uses its assets to purchase companies’ stocks in frontier emerging markets, including the smaller traditionally-recognized emerging markets. This no load fund has a high expense ratio fee of 2.25%. The portfolio turnover rate is only 24%. The yield is only 0.11%.

More: Top Emerging Markets Bond Mutual Funds

In 2013, it has a total return of 16.48%. This top performing emerging markets stock mutual fund has a 5 year annualized return of 15.67%. The top 3 stocks in its holdings are HSBC Bank P-Note (Jarir), Cementos Argos S.A. ADR, and Universal Robina Corporation.

Fund Performance

No	Fund Name	Ticker	NAV	Total Net Assets	1 Yr Return	5 Yr Return	10 Yr Return	Since Inception
1	Morgan Stanley Inst Frontier Em Mkts A	MFMPX	18.8	$23,500,000	27.06%	N/A	N/A	21.54%
2	T. Rowe Price Africa & Middle East	TRAMX	9	N/A	26.38%	11.31%	N/A	0.18%
3	Wasatch Frontier Emerg Sm Countrs Inv	WAFMX	3.11	$927,600,000	25.56%	N/A	N/A	26.87%
4	William Blair Emerg Mkts Sm Cp Gr N	WESNX	15.03	$9,300,000	20.29%	N/A	N/A	18.44%
5	HSBC Frontier Markets A	HSFAX	13.48	$24,500,000	19.10%	N/A	N/A	11.91%
6	Harding Loevner Frontier Emerg Mkts Inv	HLMOX	8.52	$25,300,000	19.02%	N/A	N/A	2.15%
7	Baron Emerging Markets Retail	BEXFX	11.49	N/A	16.36%	N/A	N/A	4.02%
8	Driehaus Emerging Markets Small Cap Gr	DRESX	12.59	$190,900,000	15.41%	N/A	N/A	20.51%
9	Driehaus Emerging Markets Growth	DREGX	32.09	$1,632,500,000	14.66%	20.00%	14.75%	22.29%
10	Scout Emerging Markets	SEMFX	11.11	$12,500,000	14.32%	N/A	N/A	12.24%
11	Delaware Emerging Markets A	DEMAX	15.87	$515,200,000	14.19%	17.21%	12.72%	N/A
12	T. Rowe Price Emerging Europe Fund	TREMX	19.49	N/A	13.30%	21.06%	9.76%	9.00%
13	Thornburg Developing World A	THDAX	18.59	$531,300,000	12.88%	N/A	N/A	9.77%
14	Nile Pan Africa A	NAFAX	14.73	$31,500,000	12.14%	N/A	N/A	9.25%
15	Calvert Emerging Markets Equity A	CVMAX	12.85	$10,100,000	12.10%	N/A	N/A	6.97%
16	Seafarer Overseas Gr and Income Investor	SFGIX	11.18	$28,200,000	11.41%	N/A	N/A	9.94%