ETF Report: Virtus Stone Harbor Emerging Markets Income Fund (EDF)

What this ETF is trying to do

The Virtus Stone Harbor Emerging Markets Income Fund, known by its ticker symbol EDF, is an exchange-traded fund (ETF). This type of fund focuses on providing income. It looks for opportunities in emerging markets, which are countries that are still growing their economies.

What the numbers show

As of July 16, 2026, the current price of one share is $5.265. Looking at how the fund has performed over different periods, we can see its growth:

• Year-to-Date (YTD): The price has gone up by about 5.94%, while the total return (which includes payouts) is 14.80%.

• One Year: The price rose by 4.26%, but the total return was much higher at 19.95%.

• Three Years: The price grew by 15.71%, and the total return reached 78.86%.

To understand how prices change, let's look at a simple example. Imagine you invested $10,000 into this fund one year ago when the estimated price was about $5.05 per share. If you only looked at the price change, your $10,000 would have grown to roughly $10,426 based on the 4.26% price return. However, because this fund pays out money, your actual total value would be higher when you include those payments.

Income and distribution explanation

This ETF is designed to pay out regular income. Over the last 12 months, it paid out a total of $0.72 per share. It usually makes these payments every month, with 12 payouts recorded in the last year. The distribution yield is 13.6752%.

It is important to remember that a high yield alone can be misleading. A very high percentage might look attractive, but it does not tell the whole story about the fund's health.

NAV erosion explanation

"NAV erosion" happens when an ETF's share price keeps falling because it is paying out more money than it is actually earning. If a fund's price collapses from a high number to a much lower number, it can destroy your principal (the original money you put in).

For this specific fund, the data shows "No price erosion detected." The erosion score is listed as good, and there is no flag for severe erosion. This means the share price has generally been moving upward rather than being eaten away by payouts.

Pros

• The fund has shown strong total returns over the last three years (78.86%).

• It provides frequent income through monthly distributions.

• The share price has stayed healthy rather than dropping significantly.

Cons

• The yield is very high, which requires careful watching to ensure it is sustainable.

• Investing in emerging markets can be different from investing in more established local markets.

Beginner takeaway

Income investors usually prefer ETFs that go sideways (stay at the same price) or move slightly up. They prefer this over funds that collapse in price, because a collapsing price can wipe out the gains made from the income payments. For EDF, the numbers show that both the price and the total returns have been growing.