JPMB tracks a proprietary index comprised of US dollar-denominated sovereign and quasi-sovereign emerging-market debt securities. Issuing debt in USD removes the direct risk of local currency fluctuations but raises credit risk, as a stronger dollar could hinder repayment. Index construction begins by filtering the eligible universe for liquidity and country risk, and then allocating risk based on credit rating. JPMB is not subject to duration or maturity limits, and may hold junk bonds in any amount. The fund goes head-to-head with iShares EMBone of the first ETFs for this space, and among the most popular.