Which returned more over the last year, EMB or EWJ?

In the year to Sep 13, 2026, with distributions reinvested, EMB returned +2.8% and EWJ returned +26.5%, so EWJ returned more. One year is one year; the longer windows are in the table.

Which is cheaper, EMB or EWJ?

EMB charges 0.39% a year and EWJ charges 0.49%, so EMB is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Data as of Sep 13, 2026. Both funds on the fields they both publish, from the same sources.

ETFIQetfiq.com · independent ETF data

EMB vs EWJ: how they differ

EMB and EWJ hold 0% of their weight in the same names, and EWJ returned more over the year.

iShares J.P. Morgan USD Emerging Markets Bond ETF and iShares MSCI Japan ETF.

What they hold in common

By the books each fund has filed, EMB and EWJ hold 0% of their money in the same securities at the same weight.

Largest positions each one holds and the other does not
Only in EMB	Only in EWJ
BLK CSH FND TREASURY SL AGENCY 0.84%	MITSUBISHI UFJ FINANCIAL GROUP 4.70%
EAGLE FUNDING LUXCO SARL RegS 0.50%	TOYOTA MOTOR 3.41%
UKRAINE (REPUBLIC OF) C BONDS RegS 0.42%	SOFTBANK GROUP 3.04%
ECUADOR REPUBLIC OF (GOVERNMENT) RegS 0.34%	SUMITOMO MITSUI FINANCIAL GROUP 3.01%
GHANA (REPUBLIC OF) DISCO RegS 0.31%	ADVANTEST 2.98%
CHINA LIFE INSURANCE OVERSEAS CO L RegS 0.28%	TOKYO ELECTRON 2.82%
REPUBLIC OF HUNGARY 0.27%	HITACHI 2.75%
ANGOLA (REPUBLIC OF) RegS 0.26%	KIOXIA HOLDINGS 2.68%

Weight overlap is an ETFIQ calculation: for every security both funds hold, the smaller of the two weights, summed. Above 50%, holding both is close to holding one of them twice. Holdings dated Sep 10, 2026.

EMB and EWJ on the fields both publish, as of Sep 13, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
	EMB iShares J.P. Morgan USD Emerging Markets Bond ETF	EWJ iShares MSCI Japan ETF
Where it sits	Core index fund	Core index fund
Issuer	iShares	iShares
What it is	J.P. Morgan USD Emerging Markets Bond	MSCI Japan
Total return, 1 year	+2.8%	+26.5%
S&P 500 over the same days	+17.5%	+17.5%
Gap to the S&P 500	−14.7 pts	+9.0 pts
Expense ratio	0.39%	0.49%
Holdings	612	171

EMB in plain words

EMB is a bond fund tracking the J.P. Morgan USD Emerging Markets Bond. Over the year to Sep 11, 2026 it returned +2.8% with distributions reinvested, against +17.5% for the S&P 500 and +23.0% for the Nasdaq-100. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.39% a year.

EWJ in plain words

EWJ is an index equity fund tracking the MSCI Japan. Over the year to Sep 11, 2026 it returned +26.5% with distributions reinvested, against +17.5% for the S&P 500 and +23.0% for the Nasdaq-100. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.49% a year. By its holdings filed for Sep 10, 2026, 0% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 171 positions, with the top ten at 30.4%.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, EMB or EWJ?: In the year to Sep 13, 2026, with distributions reinvested, EMB returned +2.8% and EWJ returned +26.5%, so EWJ returned more. One year is one year; the longer windows are in the table.
Which is cheaper, EMB or EWJ?: EMB charges 0.39% a year and EWJ charges 0.49%, so EMB is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

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Where these figures came from

ETFIQ links to the documents behind every figure. It is not affiliated with any issuer, and a link is not an endorsement.

EMB against EWJ, ETFIQ, data as of Sep 13, 2026. Every figure is arithmetic on a named public source; the method is at etfiq.com/methodology. A comparison is not a recommendation.

Cite this page. ETFIQ, EMB against EWJ, data as of Sep 13, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/emb-vs-ewj Free to use with attribution; the underlying files are at Open data.

A comparison is not a recommendation. Standards and sources