Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
BOXX vs EMXC: Differences, Returns & Fees
BOXX is an actively managed short-term fund and EMXC an equity index fund, and over the year to Oct 28, 2026, EMXC returned +33.8% against +4.0%.
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Net assets on Oct 28, 2026: $14.5bn for Alpha Architect 1-3 Month Box ETF and $26.9bn for iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ex China ETF.
Pair scorecard
BOXX costs 0.06 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 29.8 points; EMXC is 1.9 times larger.
| Measure | BOXX | EMXC |
|---|---|---|
| Return | ||
| Total return, 1 year | +4.0% | +33.8% |
| Drawdown | ||
| Below its high | 11.3%, high on Jun 22, 2026 | |
| Benchmark | ||
| What it tracks | No index, actively managed | MSCI Emerging Markets ex China Index |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.19% | 0.25% |
| Net assets | $14.5bn | $26.9bn |
| Holdings | ||
| Holdings in common | not published | |
| In the S&P 500, by weight | 0% | |
| Holdings dated | Oct 27, 2026 | |
| Top ten holdings, share of the fund | 42.2% | |
Risk and return
Jan 6, 2023 to Oct 23, 2026 · 198 weekly returnsEMXC returned more: +102.3% to +18.9%. BOXX swung less: 0.2% to 18.3%. BOXX fell less at its worst: −0.1% to −16.0%.
Full scorecard
9 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
| Measure | BOXX | EMXC | Edge | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return | ||||
| Total return | +18.9% | +102.3% | EMXC | Price change plus distributions, reinvested. |
| Annualized | +4.6% | +20.3% | EMXC | Total return as a yearly rate. |
| Price return | +18.6% | +86.5% | EMXC | Price change alone, distributions left out. |
| Risk | ||||
| Volatility | 0.2% | 18.3% | BOXX | Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier. |
| Downside deviation | 0.2% | 12.5% | BOXX | Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate. |
| Max drawdown | −0.1% | −16.0% | BOXX | Deepest fall from a high to the low after it. |
| Risk-adjusted | ||||
| Sharpe | −0.25 | 0.85 | EMXC | Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility. |
| Sortino | −0.35 | 1.25 | EMXC | Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation. |
| Calmar | Not measured | 1.27 | Annualized return divided by the max drawdown. | |
Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 198 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.
Side by side
BOXX and EMXC on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
BOXX and EMXC do different jobs. What does each one do in a portfolio?
- What each follows. BOXX follows No index, actively managed and EMXC follows MSCI Emerging Markets ex China Index.
- One-year total return. Over 1 year to Oct 28, 2026 BOXX returned +4.0% and EMXC +33.8% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 29.8 points.
- Cost (similar). BOXX charges 0.19% of assets a year and EMXC 0.25%, a gap of 0.06 points.
Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
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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.
EMXC
EMXC tracks the MSCI Emerging Markets ex China. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +33.8% with distributions reinvested, against +37.0% for its benchmark, the MSCI Emerging Markets ex China Index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.25% 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 696 positions, with the top ten at 42.2%. It sat 11.3% below its high of Jun 22, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.
Questions people ask
- Which returned more over the last year, BOXX or EMXC?
- In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, BOXX returned +4.0% and EMXC +33.8%.
- Which is cheaper, BOXX or EMXC?
- BOXX is cheaper, by 0.06 percentage points a year. That is about $6 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
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ETFIQ, BOXX against EMXC, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/boxx-vs-emxc
ETFIQ. (Oct 28, 2026). BOXX against EMXC. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/any/boxx-vs-emxc
[BOXX against EMXC (ETFIQ, Oct 28, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/any/boxx-vs-emxc)
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