Is FEM a Friend, Question Mark or Foe?

FEM 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 FEM 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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FEM Income Quality Score

Name: FEM Income Quality Score
Creator: Income Quality Score
Keywords: FEM income quality, FEM dividend quality, FEM dividend safety, FEM distribution history, FEM dividend score, FEM analysis, First Trust Emerging Markets AlphaDEX Fund dividend

First Trust Emerging Markets AlphaDEX Fund (FEM) has an Income Quality Score of 73/100, classified as a Friend with medium confidence, based on a 10-year income and total-return history.

First Trust Emerging Markets AlphaDEX Fund (FEM) is a closed-end fund and is part of the IQ Score universe.

July 2026 snapshotAs of July 31, 2026Lookback: 10-year

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

Data-drivenObjective scoring across 4 quality, distribution and risk signals

Clear classificationFriends to own. Foes to avoid.

IQ Score

73/100

FriendMedium confidence

Asset Type

CEF

Exchange

NASDAQ

Trailing Yield (TTM)

Not published

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

Rank in CEF Universe

53 of 358

Lookback

10-year

Data as of

July 31, 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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FEMFirst Trust Emerging Markets AlphaDEX Fund

73FriendMedium confidence

Snapshot: 2026-07
Data as of: 2026-07-31
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

100/100

Working Capital Preservation

69/100

Distribution Cut Score

40/100

Distribution Trend

36/100

What is working

Economic return covers long-term payout
Working capital preserved over time

What to watch

1–2 years with a material annual distribution decline
Distributions declining year-over-year

Distribution Safety

9Years raised

2Years cut

16Years of data

RisingCurrent trend

Medium confidence (5–9 years of history)

20110.205Held
20120.5841Raised
20130.6498Raised
20140.6142Lower total
20150.6494Raised
20160.4566Lower total
20170.6836Raised
20180.8045Raised
20190.8781Raised
20200.6771Lower total
20211.0821Raised
20221.2942Raised
20231.0984Cut
20240.8056Cut
20250.8551Raised
20260.2233Partial 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.