BEMB holds bonds issued by sovereign, quasi-sovereign and corporate issuers denominated in USD rather than local-currency debt. This eliminates direct currency risk for US investors, but raises the possibility that a strengthening dollar or weakening local currency could make the debt harder to service, increasing credit risk. The index provides exposure to a broad range of fixed income securities including fixed- and floating-rate. Holdings are market cap-weighted subject to diversification constraints. Sovereign and quasi-sovereign issuers must have at least outstanding. Corporate issues must have at least $500 million outstanding. There are no ratings restrictions on either individual bonds or country of risk. All bonds in the index must have at least two and a half years remaining to maturity. The use of derivatives is capped at 10% of the funds assets. The index is rebalanced on the last day trading day of each month.