Which returned more over the last year, EEM or SLV?

In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, EEM returned +16.3% and SLV +14.9%.

Which is cheaper, EEM or SLV?

SLV is cheaper, by 0.22 percentage points a year. That is about $22 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's own filings.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

Across categories

EEM vs SLV: Differences, Returns & Fees

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EEM is an equity index fund and SLV a commodity fund, and over the year to Oct 28, 2026, EEM returned +16.3% against +14.9%.

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Net assets: $29.1bn on Oct 27, 2026 for iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF, and $26.9bn on Oct 28, 2026 for iShares Silver Trust.

EEM on its own →SLV on its own →

At a glance

+16.3%

EEM total return, 1 year

+14.9%

SLV total return, 1 year

0.72%

EEM expense ratio

0.50%

SLV expense ratio

Pair scorecard

SLV costs 0.22 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 1.4 points; EEM is 1.1 times larger.

EEM vs SLV: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	EEM	SLV
Return
Measure	EEM	SLV
Total return, 1 year	+16.3%	+14.9%
Drawdown
Measure	EEM	SLV
Below its high	10.8%, high on Jun 22, 2026	53.5%, high on Jan 28, 2026
Benchmark
Measure	EEM	SLV
What it tracks	MSCI Emerging Markets Index	Silver
Cost and size
Measure	EEM	SLV
Expense ratio	0.72%	0.50%
Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026	$29.1bn	$26.5bn
Holdings
Measure	EEM	SLV
Holdings in common	not published
In the S&P 500, by weight	0%
Top ten holdings, share of the fund	37.2%

Method

Side by side

EEM iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF SLV iShares Silver Trust

Where it sits Stock ETF Commodity ETF

Issuer iShares iShares

What it is Tracks an index of Emerging markets Holds silver

Total return, 1 year +16.3% +14.9%

Its benchmark over the same days not measured +15.0% (SIVR)

Gap to its benchmark not measured −0.1 pts vs SIVR

Expense ratio 0.72% 0.50%

Holdings 1186 not counted

Net assets, EEM as of Oct 27, 2026 and SLV as of Oct 28, 2026 $29.1bn $26.9bn

EEM and SLV on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.

Alert

About each fund

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.

SLV

Its expense ratio is 0.50% a year, for the three months to Jun 30, 2026, as its 10-Q states.

SLV holds silver. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +14.9% with distributions reinvested, against +15.0% for its benchmark, the price of silver. It sat 53.5% below its high of Jan 28, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, EEM or SLV?: In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, EEM returned +16.3% and SLV +14.9%.
Which is cheaper, EEM or SLV?: SLV is cheaper, by 0.22 percentage points a year. That is about $22 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's own filings.

Other comparisons

EEM vs GLDM EEM vs IAU EEM vs GLD EEM vs SIVR SLV vs VWO IEMG vs SLV EMXC vs SLV AVEM vs SLV

Where to next

EEM on its own →SLV on its own →Hold both: look the portfolio through →Rankings →EEM dividend history →EEM holdings →Standards and sources →

Sources and dates

EEM filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

EEM prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

iShares page for EEM ↗

iShares page for SLV ↗

Links are sources, not endorsements. A comparison is not a recommendation.

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ETFIQ, EEM against SLV, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/eem-vs-slv

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