FRDM ETF

Evan Harp sat down with Michael Garry, founder and CEO of Yardley Wealth Management. Evan Harp: When and how did your practice begin?

Freedom 100 Emerging Markets ETF focuses on investing in about 100 companies from emerging markets based on a Freedom Score. The FRDM ETF is concentrated in large cap companies, with heavy exposure to Taiwan and overweight in the technology sector. FRDM has outperformed EEM and ex-China EM ETFs since its inception in 2019.

The Freedom 100 Emerging Markets ETF focuses on investing in emerging markets that score well on personal and economic freedoms. The FRDM ETF's portfolio is heavily invested in Taiwan, South Korea, and Poland, with top holdings in semiconductors, battery technology, and financial services. FRDM stands out from other similar ETFs by excluding China from its portfolio and has performed strongly as a result.

The Freedom 100 Emerging Markets ETF focuses on investing in countries that protect civil liberties and economic freedoms. The fund's exclusion of China highlights its relatively unique strategy that has impressively outperformed in recent years. We believe the fund can work in the context of a broader diversified portfolio for exposure to this important market segment.

Freedom 100 Emerging Markets ETF invests in emerging markets of Taiwan, South Korea, and Chile. Not surprisingly, it is highly focused on metals, technology, and financial sectors. My understanding is that FRDM is betting on the growth potential of lithium-ion, semiconductors, electronics manufacturing, and the future technologies. Despite being a futuristic fund, FRDM has generated strong-enough returns over the long run. However, it fails to generate satisfactory and consistent yield.