Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
BOXX vs EEM: Differences, Returns & Fees
BOXX is an actively managed short-term fund and EEM an equity index fund, and over the year to Oct 28, 2026, EEM returned +16.3% against +4.0%.
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Net assets: $14.5bn on Oct 28, 2026 for Alpha Architect 1-3 Month Box ETF, and $29.1bn on Oct 27, 2026 for iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF.
Pair scorecard
BOXX costs 0.53 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 12.3 points; EEM is 2.0 times larger.
| Measure | BOXX | EEM |
|---|---|---|
| Return | ||
| Total return, 1 year | +4.0% | +16.3% |
| Drawdown | ||
| Below its high | 10.8%, high on Jun 22, 2026 | |
| Benchmark | ||
| What it tracks | No index, actively managed | MSCI Emerging Markets Index |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.19% | 0.72% |
| Net assets, as of Oct 26, 2026 | $14.4bn | $28.7bn |
| Holdings | ||
| Holdings in common | not published | |
| In the S&P 500, by weight | 0% | |
| Top ten holdings, share of the fund | 37.2% | |
Side by side
BOXX and EEM on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
BOXX
BOXX is actively managed and tracks no index. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +4.0% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.19% a year.
EEM
EEM tracks an index of Emerging markets. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +16.3% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.72% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer for Oct 27, 2026, 0% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 1,186 positions, with the top ten at 37.2%. It sat 10.8% below its high of Jun 22, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.
Questions people ask
- Which returned more over the last year, BOXX or EEM?
- In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, BOXX returned +4.0% and EEM +16.3%.
- Which is cheaper, BOXX or EEM?
- BOXX is cheaper, by 0.53 percentage points a year. That is about $53 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
Links are sources, not endorsements. A comparison is not a recommendation.
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ETFIQ, BOXX against EEM, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/boxx-vs-eem
ETFIQ. (Oct 28, 2026). BOXX against EEM. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/any/boxx-vs-eem
[BOXX against EEM (ETFIQ, Oct 28, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/any/boxx-vs-eem)
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