Which returned more over the last year, EFA or IEMG?

In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, EFA returned +12.1% and IEMG +15.3%.

Which is cheaper, EFA or IEMG?

IEMG is cheaper, by 0.23 percentage points a year. That is about $23 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

How much do EFA and IEMG overlap with the S&P 500?

By their latest filed holdings, 0% of EFA and 0% of IEMG by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

Across categories

EFA vs IEMG: Differences, Returns & Fees

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Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, EFA returned +12.1% to IEMG's +15.3%; 0% of their weight is in the same names.

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Net assets on Oct 27, 2026: $76.8bn for iShares MSCI EAFE ETF and $150.4bn for iShares Core MSCI Emerging Markets ETF.

EFA on its own →IEMG on its own →

At a glance

+12.1%

EFA total return, 1 year

+15.3%

IEMG total return, 1 year

0.32%

EFA expense ratio

0.09%

IEMG expense ratio

Pair scorecard

IEMG costs 0.23 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 3.2 points; IEMG is 2.0 times larger.

EFA vs IEMG: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	EFA	IEMG
Return
Measure	EFA	IEMG
Total return, 1 year	+12.1%	+15.3%
Drawdown
Measure	EFA	IEMG
Below its high	4.7%, high on Aug 25, 2026	10.1%, high on Jun 22, 2026
Benchmark
Measure	EFA	IEMG
What it tracks	MSCI EAFE Index	MSCI Emerging Markets Investable Market Index (IMI)
Cost and size
Measure	EFA	IEMG
Expense ratio	0.32%	0.09%
Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026	$76.8bn	$150.4bn
Holdings
Measure	EFA	IEMG
Holdings in common	0%
Top ten holdings, share of the fund	14.3%	32.7%

Holdings in common uses holdings dated Oct 27, 2026. Method

Risk and return

Nov 2, 2012 to Oct 23, 2026 · 729 weekly returns

EFA IEMG

Return

Total return edge EFA +189.4% +120.7%

Annualized edge EFA +7.9% +5.8%

Price return edge EFA +91.2% +56.0%

Risk

Volatility edge EFA 16.1% 18.2%

Max drawdown edge EFA (slight) −33.4% −37.1%

Downside capture 97.5% 97.1%

Beta 0.96 0.96

Risk-adjusted

Sharpe edge EFA 0.44 0.30

Sortino edge EFA 0.62 0.42

Treynor 0.055 0.057

Calmar edge EFA 0.24 0.16

Against the benchmark

Alpha +0.5% a year +0.7% a year

Alpha t-stat 0.53 2.17

Information ratio 0.08 0.38

Tracking error 4.2% 1.4%

Each against its own benchmark: EFA against ACWX, Apr 11, 2008 to Oct 23, 2026; IEMG against EEM, Nov 2, 2012 to Oct 23, 2026.

Reading

EFA returned more: +189.4% to +120.7%. EFA swung less: 16.1% to 18.2%. EFA fell slightly less at its worst: −33.4% to −37.1%.

Full scorecard

19 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓

Risk and return: EFA vs IEMG: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	EFA	IEMG	Edge	How it is measured
Return
Total return	+189.4%	+120.7%	EFA	Price change plus distributions, reinvested.
Annualized	+7.9%	+5.8%	EFA	Total return as a yearly rate.
Price return	+91.2%	+56.0%	EFA	Price change alone, distributions left out.
Risk
Volatility	16.1%	18.2%	EFA	Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier.
Downside deviation	11.4%	13.0%	EFA	Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate.
Max drawdown	−33.4%	−37.1%	EFA (slight)	Deepest fall from a high to the low after it.
Upside capture	95.1%	94.6%		Share of its benchmark's rise caught in the weeks it rose.
Downside capture	97.5%	97.1%		Share of its benchmark's fall taken in the weeks it fell. Lower is better.
Beta	0.96	0.96	Not an edge	How far it moves for each 1% its benchmark moves.
R squared	0.96	1.00	Not an edge	Share of its weekly moves its benchmark explains.
Risk-adjusted
Sharpe	0.44	0.30	EFA	Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility.
Sortino	0.62	0.42	EFA	Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation.
Treynor	0.055	0.057		Return above Treasury bills per unit of beta.
Calmar	0.24	0.16	EFA	Annualized return divided by the max drawdown.
Against the benchmark
Benchmark	ACWX	EEM		The ETF each fund is measured against.
Alpha	+0.5% a year	+0.7% a year	EFA not significant	Yearly return beyond what its beta to the benchmark predicts.
Alpha t-stat	0.53	2.17	Not an edge	How sure the alpha is. Below 2, it could be chance.
Alpha range	−1.4% to +2.4%	+0.1% to +1.4%	EFA includes zero	The 95% range for the yearly alpha.
Information ratio	0.08	0.38		Return against its benchmark per unit of tracking error.
Tracking error	4.2%	1.4%	Not an edge	How far weekly returns stray from the benchmark, annualized.

Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 729 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.

What they share

By the books each fund has filed, EFA and IEMG hold 0% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Oct 27, 2026.

50%

0 half 100%

half

0% in common

Positions both hold · largest shared weight first EFA IEMG

DASSAULT SYSTEMES 0.09% 0.07%

VODAFONE GROUP PLC 0.14% 0.05%

WASHINGTON H SOUL PATTINSON & COMP 0.05% 0.08%

ACCOR SA 0.04% 0.02%

WOOLWORTHS GROUP 0.16% 0.02%

ORION CLASS B 0.05% 0.01%

TELENOR 0.04% 0.01%

AUCKLAND INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT 0.04% 0.00%

CAPGEMINI 0.10% 0.00%

WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION 0.41% 0.00%

Only in one fund ↓

Only in EFA

ASML HOLDING 2.98%

ROCHE PS PAR AG 1.58%

SHELL 1.42%

HSBC HOLDINGS PLC 1.38%

NOVARTIS AG 1.33%

ASTRAZENECA PLC 1.21%

NESTLE SA 1.21%

SAP 1.13%

Only in IEMG

TAIWAN SEMICONDUCTOR MANUFACTURING 14.03%

SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS LTD 6.05%

SK HYNIX 4.31%

TENCENT HOLDINGS 2.32%

ALIBABA GROUP HOLDING 1.60%

MEDIATEK 1.36%

CHINA CONSTRUCTION BANK CORP H 0.83%

SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS NON VOTING PRE 0.80%

Check overlap with more funds →

Side by side

EFA iShares MSCI EAFE ETF IEMG iShares Core MSCI Emerging Markets ETF

Where it sits Stock ETF Stock ETF

Issuer iShares iShares

What it is Tracks an index of Developed markets ex US Tracks the MSCI Emerging Markets

Total return, 1 year +12.1% +15.3%

Its benchmark over the same days +14.3% (ACWX) +16.3% (EEM)

Gap to its benchmark −2.2 pts vs ACWX −1.0 pts vs EEM

Expense ratio 0.32% 0.09%

Already in the S&P 500 0.0% 0.0%

Holdings 665 2857

Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026 $76.8bn $150.4bn

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

Client brief · page 1 of 2 Report BR-3C7D6CD3A8

EFA and IEMG do different jobs. What does each one do in a portfolio?

What each follows. EFA follows MSCI EAFE Index and IEMG follows MSCI Emerging Markets Investable Market Index (IMI).
Holdings in common. 0% of the weight is in the same securities (holdings dated Oct 27, 2026).
One-year total return. Over 1 year to Oct 28, 2026 EFA returned +12.1% and IEMG +15.3% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 3.2 points.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

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About each fund

EFA

EFA tracks an index of Developed markets ex US. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +12.1% with distributions reinvested, against +14.3% for its benchmark, the MSCI ACWI ex USA Index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.32% 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 665 positions, with the top ten at 14.3%. It sat 4.7% below its high of Aug 25, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.

IEMG

IEMG tracks the MSCI Emerging Markets. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +15.3% with distributions reinvested, against +16.3% for its benchmark, the MSCI Emerging Markets Index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.09% 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 2,857 positions, with the top ten at 32.7%. It sat 10.1% below its high of Jun 22, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, EFA or IEMG?: In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, EFA returned +12.1% and IEMG +15.3%.
Which is cheaper, EFA or IEMG?: IEMG is cheaper, by 0.23 percentage points a year. That is about $23 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
How much do EFA and IEMG overlap with the S&P 500?: By their latest filed holdings, 0% of EFA and 0% of IEMG by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds.

Other comparisons

EFA vs VWO EFA vs EMXC EEM vs EFA AVEM vs EFA IEMG vs SCHF IEMG vs VXUS IEFA vs IEMG IEMG vs VEA

Where to next

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

Sources and dates

EFA filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

EFA prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

iShares page for EFA ↗

IEMG filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

IEMG prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

iShares page for IEMG ↗

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

How this is computed

Overlap adds up the smaller of the two weights for each security both funds hold.

Cite this pageCitation, APA and Markdown

ETFIQ, EFA against IEMG, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/efa-vs-iemg

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Free to use with attribution for data ETFIQ computes; issuer data stays under its owner's terms.