FEO vs PULS Fund Comparison

A comparison between FEO and PULS based on their expense ratio, growth, holdings and how well they match their benchmark performance.

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Minafi's Take on FEO vs PULS

Here's an in depth look at the differences between First Trust/Aberdeen Emerging Opportunity Fund($FEO) and PGIM Ultra Short Bond ETF($PULS).

To start off, here's a look at the basics of each fund. Keep an eye on the FI Score. That's a custom score from 0 to 100 that we generate based on how good this fund is for the casual investor. Most investors only need a handful of total funds in their portfolio. The higher the score, the more likely this is one of those few. Score alone isn't enough! Keep reading on to see how different (or perhaps similar) these two funds are.

  • feo
  • Mutual Fund
  • International Stocks
  • Emerging Markets

First Trust/Aberdeen Emerging Opportunity Fund

Expenses: 1.98% (Better than 0% of similar funds)

This is a bad choice for a Emerging Markets International Stocks fund. See why »

  • puls
  • ETF
  • Alternative
  • Short

PGIM Ultra Short Bond ETF

Expenses: 0.15% (Better than 1% of similar funds)

This is an OK choice for a Short Alternative fund. See why »

$FEO is classified as a Mutual Fund while $PULS is classified as an ETF. Even though one of these is a mutual fund and the other is an ETF, that doesn't matter too much for their holdings. Both ETFs and mutual funds are just containers to hold lots of investments inside of them.

The biggest differences between these two is where they may be offered. ETFs are more widely availble from a larger number of investment apps and websites. Mutual funds, on the other hand, are generally offered by the platform they're issued by (Fidelity funds on Fidelity, Vanguard funds on Vanguard). Usually 401(k)'s will offer both ETFs and Mutual Funds. If you're investing outside of a 401(k), I'd recommend you verify the fees associated with ETF and mutual fund transactions. Some platforms charge an additional fee to purchase a mutual fund.

To learn more about the difference between these two, you can read about the difference between ETFs and Mutual Funds.

When evaluating a fund, the first things I look at are:

  • What it invests in
  • How much it charges in fees
  • How large the fund is

Let's look into these criteria one by one and see if either of these funds stands out.

Fund Holdings Comparison

Minafi's FI Score algorithm takes into account the category and market. The more niche a fund is, the lower the score. This doesn't mean it's a worse fund, but it does mean you should stop and make sure this a fund you need to diversify your portfolio.

FEOPULS
Market Score 10.0 /10 4.9 /10
Category Score 5.0 /10 0.0 /10
Total15.04.9

A score of 10 means this is a solid market and category that almost every investor will want to have investments in. The lower the score, the more specific the investment. These scores are based on when most investors would add these funds to their portfolio. A score of 10 means that this fund (or one like it) belongs in a three-fund portfolio. The lower the score, the farther down in your portfolio a fund would go.

Winner: $FEO

Fee Comparison

Fees are one of the biggest killers of portfolio growth. The difference between a 2% fee and a 0.04% fee over 30 years can result in your portfolio having half the total value!

If you're just getting started investing and learning how fees impact your portfolio, I'd encourage you to read through my free investment course (specifically '2.2 - All About Fees') where I go over all the different types of fees you can be charged and how to lower them.

For these two funds, FEO has an expense ratio of 1.98% while PULS has an expense ratio of 0.15%.

Winner: $PULS

Fund Size Comparison

One place these two funds differ is in their total assets under management. This is a good indication of how many other investors trust this fund. A large fund by itself doesn't mean it's a good fund, but it is one thing to consider when figuring out how to choose the right fund.

In the case of these two funds, FEO is a large fund with in assets under management. PULS, on the other hand, is a small fund with 915 Million in assets under management.

Winner: $FEO, First Trust/Aberdeen Emerging Opportunity Fund

Which Should You Choose? FEO or PULS?

Comparing these two funds isn't an apples to apples comparison. FEO is a International StocksEmerging Markets fund, while PULS is a AlternativeShort fund.

If you're aiming to build a diversified, low-fee, tax-optimized portfolio you likely won't be choosing between these two funds since they're different enough.

Running both of these funds through Minafi's FI Score algorithm, gives FEO a score of 47 and PULS a score of 62.

Winner: Neither, I'd research more funds if you're looking to invest for retirement.

$FEO

First Trust/Aberdeen Emerging Opportunity Fund

47

Read More
Ratings
Rating TypeRating
Expense Ratio Score1/10
Expense Rating0/10
Market Score10/10
Category Score5/10
Overview
OverviewDetails
Fund TypeMutual Fund
Inception DateAug-28-2006
ExchangeNYSE
Expense Ratio1.980%
Net Assets
Yield0.00%
Holdings
DescriptionInfo
MarketInternational Stocks
CategoryEmerging Markets
Sectors
  • Basic Materials 6.54%
  • Communication Services 16.56%
  • Consumer Cyclical 9.54%
  • Consumer Defensive 9.73%
  • Energy 2.99%
  • Financial Services 25.46%
  • Healthcare 1.41%
  • Industrials 2.37%
  • Real Estate 4.99%
  • Technology 19.94%
  • Utilities 0.48%
Regions
  • Africa/Middle East 2.33%
  • Asia Developed 24.32%
  • Asia Emerging 53.60%
  • Europe Developed 2.69%
  • Europe Emerging 4.69%
  • Latin America 12.37%

$PULS

PGIM Ultra Short Bond ETF

62

Read More
Ratings
Rating TypeRating
Expense Ratio Score9/10
Expense Rating9/10
Market Score5/10
Category Score0/10
Overview
OverviewDetails
Fund TypeETF
ExchangeNYSE
Expense Ratio0.150%
Net Assets915 Million
Yield2.73%
Holdings
DescriptionInfo
MarketAlternative
CategoryShort
Sectors
  • Basic Materials 0.00%
  • Communication Services 0.00%
  • Consumer Cyclicals 0.00%
  • Consumer Defensive 0.00%
  • Energy 0.00%
  • Financial Services 0.00%
  • Healthcare 0.00%
  • Industrials 0.00%
  • Real Estate 0.00%
  • Technology 0.00%
  • Utilities 0.00%

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