William Blair Bets on Global Markets With Its First Three ETFs

WBIE Targets 40–70 International Stocks

The William Blair International Equity ETF

seeks long-term capital appreciation through a concentrated portfolio of typically 40 to 70 stocks across developed and emerging markets.

Benchmarked against the MSCI All Country World ex USA Index, the fund targets companies exhibiting above-average growth, profitability and quality characteristics that William Blair believes are underappreciated by the market.

Emerging markets exposure can reach the greater of 40% of assets or twice the benchmark's emerging markets weight, giving managers flexibility to allocate beyond developed markets.

The strategy combines fundamental research with quantitative analysis, drawing on nearly 35 years of William Blair's international equity experience.

According to the firm's research, 72.4% of companies in the top quintile of its proprietary sustainable value creation measure were located outside the United States as of August 31, 2026. The measure evaluates corporate returns on capital, highlighting potential investment opportunities beyond US equities.

William Blair also identifies structural growth opportunities in AI infrastructure, energy, industrial metals and defense spending.

For investors seeking to diversify concentrated US equity positions, WBIE offers an actively managed international allocation that can complement domestic holdings or passive international funds. Its concentrated approach also provides an alternative to broader index-based strategies, although returns will depend on the managers' stock selection.

WBIE is managed by Alaina Anderson, Simon Fennell, Chandan Khanna and Andrew Siepker. Its net expense ratio is 0.55%, reflecting a contractual fee waiver through April 30, 2028.

WBEM Focuses on Emerging Markets Equities

The William Blair Emerging Markets Equity ETF

invests in a portfolio of typically 70 to 125 large- and mid-cap emerging markets stocks, targeting companies with durable growth, strong profitability and attractive quality characteristics.

Benchmarked against the MSCI Emerging Markets Index, the fund seeks long-term capital appreciation through active security selection.

William Blair believes emerging markets could benefit from attractive relative valuations, improving corporate fundamentals and a potentially weaker US dollar. The manager also sees opportunities in companies exposed to AI development, energy production, advanced manufacturing and defense spending.

Despite these potential tailwinds, emerging markets remain underrepresented in global active portfolios. According to William Blair's analysis, emerging markets were underweighted by 780 basis points as of April 2026, compared with a 20-year average underweight of 450 basis points.

The positioning gap suggests room for increased allocations if investor sentiment toward emerging markets improves, although there is no guarantee that institutional investment patterns will change.

WBEM draws on more than 30 years of William Blair's emerging markets experience and a research platform covering over 1,400 companies.

As a dedicated emerging markets strategy, WBEM can complement US equity holdings or broader international allocations while providing targeted exposure to growth opportunities across regions, sectors and industries. Unlike passive emerging markets ETFs, its managers can adjust portfolio positioning based on company fundamentals and changing market conditions.

The fund is managed by Todd McClone, Casey Preyss and Vivian Lin Thurston. Its net expense ratio is 0.65%, reflecting a contractual fee waiver through April 30, 2028.

WBEM is structured as a non-diversified fund, allowing larger positions in individual companies.

WINC Brings an Existing Debt Strategy Into an ETF

The William Blair Emerging Income ETF

is the firm's first fixed income ETF, offering exposure to emerging markets sovereign and corporate debt.

Unlike the two equity launches, WINC was converted from an existing mutual fund, retaining its predecessor strategy's investment history dating back to May 25, 2021.

Historical performance before the conversion reflects the mutual fund's different fee structure.

The ETF invests across more than 90 emerging markets, primarily through hard currency-denominated bonds, with opportunistic exposure to local currency debt and corporate issuers. Its benchmark is the J.P. Morgan Emerging Markets Bond Index Global Diversified.

William Blair sees opportunities in an asset class that remains underrepresented in global bond allocations.

As of June 2026, emerging markets accounted for approximately 25% of the global fixed income universe but just 5% of typical global bond benchmarks.

The manager also highlights the potential yield premium.

As of May 2026, emerging markets sovereign bonds offered an index yield of 6.9%, compared with 4.7% for the Bloomberg US Aggregate Index, although higher yields can come with additional credit and market risks.

WINC employs a proprietary risk classification framework that groups emerging markets into high-, medium- and low-beta categories based on their sensitivity to market movements. The managers combine this approach with fundamental research to identify opportunities across countries and issuers.

Within a fixed income portfolio, WINC can complement US and developed-market bonds by providing exposure to different sovereign and corporate issuers, currencies and interest rate environments. Its active approach allows managers to pursue yield opportunities across emerging markets while adjusting exposure to countries and issuers with different risk profiles.

The fund is managed by William Blair's emerging markets debt team, led by Marcelo Assalin, alongside Luis Olguin and Marco Ruijer. Its net expense ratio is 0.55%, reflecting a contractual fee waiver through April 30, 2028.

A First Step Into the Active ETF Market

William Blair's entry adds another established investment manager to the increasingly competitive active ETF market, where firms are adapting longstanding strategies to meet demand for exchange-traded products.

Rather than launching a broad lineup, William Blair has initially focused on three international and emerging markets strategies where its research capabilities and active investment approach are central to the offering.

The two equity ETFs may overlap in their emerging markets holdings, making their combined geographic and sector exposures important considerations for investors.

The funds' ability to attract assets will depend partly on whether their portfolio construction, security selection and performance can justify their fees relative to lower-cost passive alternatives.

International and emerging markets investing carries currency, political and liquidity risks. Emerging markets debt introduces additional credit and sovereign default risks, while concentrated equity strategies may experience greater company-specific volatility.

Please note this article is for information purposes only and does not in any way constitute investment advice. It is essential that you seek advice from a registered financial professional prior to making any investment decision.