Is EMD a Friend, Question Mark or Foe?

EMD is classified a Friend under the Income Quality Score framework, based on long-duration distribution and total-return history. This is a research classification, not investment advice.

How safe is the EMD distribution?

A Friend is an income asset whose long-term economic total return has historically covered its distributions and whose distribution has been stable over the available history. It describes a track record of durable, well-covered income.

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Public snapshot

EMD Income Quality Score

Name: EMD Income Quality Score
Creator: Income Quality Score
Keywords: EMD income quality, EMD dividend quality, EMD dividend safety, EMD distribution history, EMD dividend score, EMD analysis, Western Asset Emerging Markets Debt Fund Inc. dividend

Western Asset Emerging Markets Debt Fund Inc. (EMD) has an Income Quality Score of 68/100, classified as a Friend with high confidence, based on a 10-year income and total-return history.

Western Asset Emerging Markets Debt Fund Inc. (EMD) is a closed-end fund and is part of the IQ Score universe.

July 2026 snapshotAs of June 30, 2026Lookback: 10-year

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Long-term focused10-year income and total-return analysis

Data-drivenObjective scoring across 5 quality, distribution and risk signals

Clear classificationFriends to own. Foes to avoid.

IQ Score

68/100

FriendHigh confidence

Asset Type

CEF

Exchange

NYSE

Trailing Yield (TTM)

Not published

No normalized trailing yield is published for closed-end funds in this snapshot.

Rank in CEF Universe

78 of 358

Lookback

10-year

Data as of

June 30, 2026

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About this snapshot
This is the public July 2026 snapshot. Public snapshots are delayed and frozen: once released, a month's scores do not change, and current data is reserved for members. The July 2026 snapshot is published as the public launch snapshot.

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EMDWestern Asset Emerging Markets Debt Fund Inc.

68FriendHigh confidence

Snapshot: 2026-06
Data as of: 2026-06-30
Lookback: 10-year
Asset type: Closed-End Fund

IQ Score History

Reconstructed monthly scores are computed from current data and methodology. Published snapshots are the frozen monthly releases, marked on the line. Where the methodology changed, the line is broken rather than joined across the change.

Signals & Drivers

IQ signal scores

Each signal is normalised to 0–100 and combined by weight into the overall IQ Score.

Economic Payout Coverage

35/100

Working Capital Preservation

68/100

Distribution Cut Score

100/100

Distribution Trend

59/100

NAV CAGR

98/100

What is working

Working capital preserved over time
No material annual distribution decline across 10 full years of data
Stable NAV over available history

What to watch

Distributions exceed long-term total return

Distribution Safety

7Years raised

0Years cut

23Years of data

RisingCurrent trend

High confidence (10-year history)

20041.72Held
20052.5466Raised
20061.638Lower total
20071.375Lower total
20081.68Raised
20091.54Lower total
20101.37Lower total
20111.325Lower total
20121.415Raised
20131.44Raised
20141.42Lower total
20151.31Lower total
20161.47Raised
20171.21Lower total
20181.2Held
20191.2Held
20201.175Lower total
20211.08Lower total
20221.01Lower total
20230.918Lower total
20241.017Raised
20251.11Raised
20260.57Partial year

Distributions per year, from the frozen distribution-stability signal. “Lower total” means the calendar-year sum was smaller than the prior year (often a special-distribution rolloff or timing shift), but did not decline more than the engine's 10% material-decline threshold — see Years Cut above for years that did.

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IQ Score is a long-duration quality and distribution-safety classification for income assets. It is research based on historical data, not personal investment advice, and it does not tell you what to buy or sell. Figures reflect a delayed public snapshot and may differ from current data.