The Best (And Only) Vietnam ETF for Q4 2020

Vietnam has undergone dramatic shifts in recent decades as the country evolves from a command economy to a market economy. Today, many investors are looking at emerging markets such as Vietnam as an area of potential investment. One way investors can gain exposure to the Vietnamese economy is by investing in a Vietnam-focused exchange-traded fund (ETF), which can offer increased diversification, helping to protect against risk.

Within the vast ETF universe, there is just one that is dedicated to Vietnam, excluding inverse and leveraged ETFs. For the time being, the best (and only) Vietnam-focused ETF is the VanEck Vectors Vietnam ETF (VNM). The VNM has underperformed the broader market with a total return of -2.9% over the past 12 months compared to the S&P 500's total return of 19.5%. We take a closer look at the VNM below. Except for the 10 major holdings at bottom, all numbers in this story are as of August 6, 2020.

VanEck Vectors Vietnam ETF (VNM)

• Performance over 1-Year: -2.9%
• Expense Ratio: 0.68%
• Annual Dividend Yield: 0.84%
• 3-Month Average Daily Volume: 295,645
• Assets Under Management: $371.3 million
• Inception Date: August 11, 2009
• Issuer: VanEck

While there are other emerging markets ETFs that include small holdings of Vietnamese equities, VNM is the closest thing to a pure play Vietnam ETF that U.S. investors are likely to find. The fund tracks the MVIS Vietnam Index (MVVNM). VNM is a multi-cap ETF that invests in equities of various market capitalizations. It includes companies that are both domiciled in Vietnam and elsewhere, but which generate at least 50% of their revenue from Vietnam. The fund follows a blended strategy, investing in both growth and value stocks. Below, we'll take a look at the fund’s 10 largest holdings as of August 10, 2020.