Ugly, Scary and Not Getting Better

It's tough to be an emerging-markets fund manager these days. And it's not looking like it will get better anytime soon, at least not before the first quarter is over. For those in doubt, examine the five biggest developing world stock funds in the U.S. by assets.

Combined, Vanguard's FTSE Emerging Markets ETF and Emerging Markets Stock Index Fund, Oppenheimer's Developing Market Fund, American Funds' New World Fund and the iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF have lost $34.9 billion of assets under management over the past year, bringing their holdings to multi-year lows. The net asset values of all five touched the lowest in at least five years in January and remain close to that level. They have also had their worst first eight weeks since 2009.