Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
EMXC vs IEFA: Differences, Returns & Fees
Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, EMXC returned +33.8% to IEFA's +12.3%; 0% of their weight is in the same names.
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Net assets on Oct 28, 2026: $26.9bn for iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ex China ETF and $190.4bn for iShares Core MSCI EAFE ETF.
Pair scorecard
IEFA costs 0.18 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 21.5 points; IEFA is 7.1 times larger.
| Measure | EMXC | IEFA |
|---|---|---|
| Return | ||
| Total return, 1 year | +33.8% | +12.3% |
| Drawdown | ||
| Below its high | 11.3%, high on Jun 22, 2026 | 4.7%, high on Aug 25, 2026 |
| Benchmark | ||
| What it tracks | MSCI Emerging Markets ex China Index | MSCI EAFE IMI Index |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.25% | 0.07% |
| Net assets | $26.9bn | $190.4bn |
| Holdings | ||
| Holdings in common | 0% | |
| Top ten holdings, share of the fund | 42.2% | 12.3% |
Holdings in common uses holdings dated Oct 27, 2026. Method
Risk and return
Aug 4, 2017 to Oct 23, 2026 · 481 weekly returnsEach against its own benchmark: EMXC against KEMX, Apr 18, 2019 to Oct 23, 2026; IEFA against ACWX, Nov 2, 2012 to Oct 23, 2026.
EMXC returned more: +122.9% to +99.9%. IEFA swung slightly less: 17.5% to 19.2%. IEFA fell less at its worst: −34.1% to −40.7%.
Full scorecard
19 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
| Measure | EMXC | IEFA | Edge | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return | ||||
| Total return | +122.9% | +99.9% | EMXC | Price change plus distributions, reinvested. |
| Annualized | +9.1% | +7.8% | EMXC | Total return as a yearly rate. |
| Price return | +80.5% | +51.7% | EMXC | Price change alone, distributions left out. |
| Risk | ||||
| Volatility | 19.2% | 17.5% | IEFA (slight) | Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier. |
| Downside deviation | 13.8% | 12.5% | IEFA (slight) | Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate. |
| Max drawdown | −40.7% | −34.1% | IEFA | Deepest fall from a high to the low after it. |
| Upside capture | 92.3% | 98.1% | Share of its benchmark's rise caught in the weeks it rose. | |
| Downside capture | 97.9% | 97.7% | Share of its benchmark's fall taken in the weeks it fell. Lower is better. | |
| Beta | 0.97 | 1.00 | Not an edge | How far it moves for each 1% its benchmark moves. |
| R squared | 0.97 | 0.96 | Not an edge | Share of its weekly moves its benchmark explains. |
| Risk-adjusted | ||||
| Sharpe | 0.41 | 0.36 | EMXC | Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility. |
| Sortino | 0.57 | 0.51 | EMXC | Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation. |
| Treynor | 0.098 | 0.073 | Return above Treasury bills per unit of beta. | |
| Calmar | 0.22 | 0.23 | IEFA (slight) | Annualized return divided by the max drawdown. |
| Against the benchmark | ||||
| Benchmark | KEMX | ACWX | The ETF each fund is measured against. | |
| Alpha | −0.8% a year | +0.8% a year | Not significant | Yearly return beyond what its beta to the benchmark predicts. |
| Alpha t-stat | −0.59 | 0.96 | Not an edge | How sure the alpha is. Below 2, it could be chance. |
| Alpha range | −3.3% to +1.8% | −0.9% to +2.5% | Includes zero | The 95% range for the yearly alpha. |
| Information ratio | −0.30 | 0.25 | Return against its benchmark per unit of tracking error. | |
| Tracking error | 3.6% | 3.2% | Not an edge | How far weekly returns stray from the benchmark, annualized. |
Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 481 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.
What they share
By the books each fund has filed, EMXC and IEFA hold 0% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Oct 27, 2026.
half
0% in common
Only in one fund ↓
Side by side
EMXC and IEFA on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
EMXC and IEFA do different jobs. What does each one do in a portfolio?
- What each follows. EMXC follows MSCI Emerging Markets ex China Index and IEFA follows MSCI EAFE IMI Index.
- 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 EMXC returned +33.8% and IEFA +12.3% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 21.5 points.
Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
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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.
IEFA
IEFA tracks the MSCI EAFE. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +12.3% with distributions reinvested, against +14.3% for its benchmark, the MSCI ACWI ex USA Index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.07% 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 2,629 positions, with the top ten at 12.3%. It sat 4.7% below its high of Aug 25, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.
Questions people ask
- Which returned more over the last year, EMXC or IEFA?
- In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, EMXC returned +33.8% and IEFA +12.3%.
- Which is cheaper, EMXC or IEFA?
- IEFA is cheaper, by 0.18 percentage points a year. That is about $18 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
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How this is computed
Overlap adds up the smaller of the two weights for each security both funds hold.
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ETFIQ, EMXC against IEFA, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/emxc-vs-iefa
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[EMXC against IEFA (ETFIQ, Oct 28, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/any/emxc-vs-iefa)
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