Data sourced from Dakota Marketplace, the global LP and GP intelligence platform trusted by thousands of investment professionals. Learn More | Book a Demo
Every quarter, institutional investment managers with $100 million or more in 13(f) securities report their holdings to the SEC (SEC Form 13F FAQ). The filings are public but not built for prospecting: each is one firm's list of issuer names, share counts and values, with no asset class tags and no quarter-over-quarter comparison. Finding which RIAs hold a given ETF means pulling filings firm by firm and doing the matching yourself.
Dakota Marketplace does that work for you. Its 13F tab holds 2,621,000+ holdings, including 938,000+ ETF positions, searchable by ticker, asset class and product structure, with Status fields that flag each position as New, Increased, Decreased or Sold-Out versus last quarter.
We used that data to find which international and global bond ETFs the most RIAs actually own. Vanguard Total International Bond (BNDX) leads with 59 RIAs for the quarter ending December 31, 2025, followed by iShares J.P. Morgan USD Emerging Markets Bond (EMB) at 48 and iShares Core International Aggregate Bond (IAGG) at 36. The bigger story is how few RIAs own bonds outside the US at all, even as emerging markets bond ETFs took in $4.4 billion in 2025, about 15% of their starting assets (State Street Global Advisors, January 2026).
In this article, we’ll rank the 10 international bond ETFs held by the most RIAs, show where the dollars concentrate, and break down what a home-biased bond book means for managers selling global fixed income.
The Top 10 International Bond ETFs Held by RIAs
Ranked by the number of distinct RIAs reporting a position in 13F filings for the quarter ending December 31, 2025.
|
Rank
|
Ticker
|
ETF
|
Category
|
RIA holdings
|
|
1
|
BNDX
|
Vanguard Total International Bond ETF
|
International aggregate (hedged)
|
59
|
|
2
|
EMB
|
iShares J.P. Morgan USD Emerging Markets Bond ETF
|
EM debt (USD)
|
48
|
|
3
|
IAGG
|
iShares Core International Aggregate Bond ETF
|
International aggregate (hedged)
|
36
|
|
4
|
VWOB
|
Vanguard Emerging Markets Government Bond ETF
|
EM government debt (USD)
|
21
|
|
5
|
DFSB
|
Dimensional Global Sustainability Fixed Income ETF
|
Global (active)
|
9
|
|
6
|
EBND
|
SPDR Bloomberg Emerging Markets Local Bond ETF
|
EM local currency
|
8
|
|
7
|
BNDW
|
Vanguard Total World Bond ETF
|
Global aggregate
|
7
|
|
8
|
FEMB
|
First Trust Emerging Markets Local Currency Bond ETF
|
EM local currency (active)
|
7
|
|
9
|
BWX
|
SPDR Bloomberg International Treasury Bond ETF
|
International treasuries
|
6
|
|
10
|
EMHY
|
iShares J.P. Morgan EM High Yield Bond ETF
|
EM high yield
|
6
|
Source: Dakota Marketplace 13F holdings data, quarter ending December 31, 2025. BNDW and FEMB tie at 7 RIAs, and BWX and EMHY tie at 6. Ties are ordered by RIA dollars held.
What the Ranking Shows
1. RIA Bond Books Are Overwhelmingly Domestic (120 RIAs, $816M)
Only 120 RIAs hold an international or global bond ETF, with $816M in holdings. That is less than 4% of the $21.0B RIAs hold across all fixed income ETFs. By comparison, 281 RIAs hold an international equity ETF.
Every one of those 120 RIAs also holds an international equity ETF, so they’re already diversified globally on the stock side. 164 RIAs own international stocks but no international bonds.
2. Hedged Aggregate Funds Lead (BNDX and IAGG, 74 RIAs)
The top and third slots go to broad international aggregate funds that hedge currency back to the dollar. 74 RIAs hold BNDX, IAGG or both, and 21 hold both.
Hedging matters. These funds give RIAs exposure to foreign interest rates without the currency swings, so they behave much more like a US core bond fund. For most RIAs, that is the version of international bonds that fits beside AGG or BND.
3. Emerging Markets Debt Comes in Dollars (70 RIAs)
70 RIAs hold an emerging markets debt ETF, with $286M in holdings. Most choose dollar-denominated funds: 56 hold EMB or Vanguard Emerging Markets Government Bond (VWOB). Only 15 hold a local currency fund such as EBND or FEMB.
38 RIAs hold both an emerging markets debt ETF and a developed international or global bond ETF. They are building a real global bond sleeve rather than a single position.
Want to see which RIAs in your territory hold these funds? Book a demo of Dakota Marketplace.
Breadth vs. Dollars: Where RIA Assets Concentrate
The ETFs held by the most RIAs are also the ones holding most of the money. BNDX, EMB and IAGG together hold $592M, about 73% of RIA international bond ETF dollars.
|
Ticker
|
ETF
|
RIA holding
|
RIA holdings
|
|
BNDX
|
Vanguard Total International Bond ETF
|
59
|
$300M
|
|
EMB
|
iShares J.P. Morgan USD Emerging Markets Bond ETF
|
48
|
$163M
|
|
IAGG
|
iShares Core International Aggregate Bond ETF
|
36
|
$129M
|
|
VWOB
|
Vanguard Emerging Markets Government Bond ETF
|
21
|
$83M
|
|
BNDW
|
Vanguard Total World Bond ETF
|
7
|
$21M
|
|
IGOV
|
iShares International Treasury Bond ETF
|
2
|
$14M
|
BNDX has the largest average position at $5.1M per RIA. The emerging markets funds draw smaller tickets: $3.4M for EMB and $4.0M for VWOB. Local currency funds are smaller still, under $2M on average.
Source: Dakota Marketplace 13F holdings data, quarter ending December 31, 2025.
What This Means for Investment Firms Pitching RIAs
International bonds are the most underused sleeve we’ve covered in this series. That cuts both ways for global fixed income managers: the opening is large, but most RIAs haven’t decided they need the allocation yet.
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Start with the 164 RIAs that own international stocks but no international bonds. They already accept the case for global diversification. The pitch is extending it to their fixed income.
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Lead with hedged exposure. BNDX and IAGG show that RIAs prefer international bonds without currency risk. A hedged or core-plus global strategy will fit the way most RIAs already think about bonds.
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Treat EM debt holders as yield buyers. The 70 RIAs holding emerging markets debt are reaching for income. Active EM debt managers can compete on yield, credit selection and currency management, especially with the 15 RIAs already comfortable in local currency.
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Find the global bond builders. The 38 RIAs holding both developed and emerging markets bond ETFs have built a real global sleeve. They are the first call for multi-sector and global fixed income managers.
Turn 13F Holdings Into a Prospect List
Every number in this post came from the 13F tab in Dakota Marketplace. Members filter 2,621,000+ holdings by account name, investment strategy, ticker, asset class, sub-asset class, product structure, fund balance range and filing period, and switch between a By Investor and a By Fund view.
Seven new fields make the data faster to act on:
- Quarter-over-quarter change on any holding: Previous No. of Shares, Previous Quarter Value and Status (New, Increased, Decreased, Equal Shares or Sold-Out) show who is adding or trimming a position, with no filing to open and no math to do.
- ETF exposure on every account: ETF AUM, ETF AUM %, Active ETF AUM and Passive ETF AUM answer "does this RIA use ETFs, and how much?" right on the account page.
That gives investment firms three ways to build a sharper list:
-
Find who holds a competitor's fund. Search a ticker and pull every firm reporting it.
-
Spot momentum. Filter by Status to see which RIAs bought or added to a position last quarter, and which sold out.
-
Target real holdings, not stated mandates. An RIA that leans active in its ETF book is a very different conversation than one that runs almost entirely passive.
Members can now build and save their own 13F lists with Create a List and My Lists, then export any list to Excel to share or print.
Find the RIAs Behind the Holdings
Dakota Marketplace tracks 8,700+ RIAs and 48,300+ RIA contacts, with 13F holdings attached to each firm profile. Filter by ETF ticker or asset class held, by RIA AUM, by metro area, or by decision-maker title such as CIO or portfolio manager.
Book a demo of Dakota Marketplace to know what an RIA already owns before you pitch what it should add.
