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

In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, EWJ returned +18.1% and IEMG +15.3%.

Which is cheaper, EWJ or IEMG?

IEMG is cheaper, by 0.40 percentage points a year. That is about $40 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

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

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

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

Across categories

EWJ vs IEMG: Differences, Returns & Fees

Share on X Download as PDF

Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, EWJ returned +18.1% to IEMG's +15.3%; 0% of their weight is in the same names.

askIQ about this page

askIQ about EWJ and IEMG

Net assets: $23.9bn on Oct 28, 2026 for iShares MSCI Japan ETF, and $150.4bn on Oct 27, 2026 for iShares Core MSCI Emerging Markets ETF.

EWJ on its own →IEMG on its own →

At a glance

+18.1%

EWJ total return, 1 year

+15.3%

IEMG total return, 1 year

0.49%

EWJ expense ratio

0.09%

IEMG expense ratio

Pair scorecard

IEMG costs 0.40 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 2.8 points; IEMG is 6.3 times larger.

EWJ vs IEMG: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	EWJ	IEMG
Return
Measure	EWJ	IEMG
Total return, 1 year	+18.1%	+15.3%
Drawdown
Measure	EWJ	IEMG
Below its high	4.4%, high on Oct 6, 2026	10.1%, high on Jun 22, 2026
Benchmark
Measure	EWJ	IEMG
What it tracks	MSCI Japan Index	MSCI Emerging Markets Investable Market Index (IMI)
Cost and size
Measure	EWJ	IEMG
Expense ratio	0.49%	0.09%
Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026	$23.8bn	$150.4bn
Holdings
Measure	EWJ	IEMG
Holdings in common	0%
Top ten holdings, share of the fund	29.5%	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

EWJ IEMG

Return

Total return edge EWJ +234.4% +120.7%

Annualized edge EWJ +9.0% +5.8%

Price return edge EWJ +159.1% +56.0%

Risk

Volatility edge EWJ (slight) 17.1% 18.2%

Max drawdown edge EWJ −32.5% −37.1%

Downside capture 87.1% 97.1%

Beta 0.76 0.96

Risk-adjusted

Sharpe edge EWJ 0.48 0.30

Sortino edge EWJ 0.69 0.42

Treynor 0.071 0.057

Calmar edge EWJ 0.28 0.16

Against the benchmark

Alpha +1.6% a year +0.7% a year

Alpha t-stat 0.65 2.17

Information ratio 0.03 0.38

Tracking error 11.6% 1.4%

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

Reading

EWJ returned more: +234.4% to +120.7%. EWJ swung slightly less: 17.1% to 18.2%. EWJ fell less at its worst: −32.5% to −37.1%.

Full scorecard

19 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓

Risk and return: EWJ vs IEMG: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	EWJ	IEMG	Edge	How it is measured
Return
Total return	+234.4%	+120.7%	EWJ	Price change plus distributions, reinvested.
Annualized	+9.0%	+5.8%	EWJ	Total return as a yearly rate.
Price return	+159.1%	+56.0%	EWJ	Price change alone, distributions left out.
Risk
Volatility	17.1%	18.2%	EWJ (slight)	Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier.
Downside deviation	11.9%	13.0%	EWJ (slight)	Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate.
Max drawdown	−32.5%	−37.1%	EWJ	Deepest fall from a high to the low after it.
Upside capture	75.1%	94.6%		Share of its benchmark's rise caught in the weeks it rose.
Downside capture	87.1%	97.1%		Share of its benchmark's fall taken in the weeks it fell. Lower is better.
Beta	0.76	0.96	Not an edge	How far it moves for each 1% its benchmark moves.
R squared	0.67	1.00	Not an edge	Share of its weekly moves its benchmark explains.
Risk-adjusted
Sharpe	0.48	0.30	EWJ	Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility.
Sortino	0.69	0.42	EWJ	Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation.
Treynor	0.071	0.057		Return above Treasury bills per unit of beta.
Calmar	0.28	0.16	EWJ	Annualized return divided by the max drawdown.
Against the benchmark
Benchmark	ACWX	EEM		The ETF each fund is measured against.
Alpha	+1.6% a year	+0.7% a year	EWJ not significant	Yearly return beyond what its beta to the benchmark predicts.
Alpha t-stat	0.65	2.17	Not an edge	How sure the alpha is. Below 2, it could be chance.
Alpha range	−3.2% to +6.4%	+0.1% to +1.4%	EWJ includes zero	The 95% range for the yearly alpha.
Information ratio	0.03	0.38		Return against its benchmark per unit of tracking error.
Tracking error	11.6%	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, EWJ 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 EWJ IEMG

Only in one fund ↓

Only in EWJ

MITSUBISHI UFJ FINANCIAL GROUP 4.40%

TOYOTA MOTOR 3.59%

ADVANTEST 3.03%

HITACHI 3.03%

RECRUIT HOLDINGS LTD 3.03%

SONY GROUP 2.89%

SUMITOMO MITSUI FINANCIAL GROUP 2.83%

TOKYO ELECTRON 2.55%

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

EWJ iShares MSCI Japan ETF IEMG iShares Core MSCI Emerging Markets ETF

Where it sits Stock ETF Stock ETF

Issuer iShares iShares

What it is Tracks the MSCI Japan Tracks the MSCI Emerging Markets

Total return, 1 year +18.1% +15.3%

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

Gap to its benchmark +3.8 pts vs ACWX −1.0 pts vs EEM

Expense ratio 0.49% 0.09%

Already in the S&P 500 0.0% 0.0%

Holdings 169 2857

Net assets, EWJ as of Oct 28, 2026 and IEMG as of Oct 27, 2026 $23.9bn $150.4bn

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

Client brief · page 1 of 2 Report BR-CD7228B9FB

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

What each follows. EWJ follows MSCI Japan 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 EWJ returned +18.1% and IEMG +15.3% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 2.8 points.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

The two-page PDF for this pair is coming. Save the comparison to follow its changes. Free. It needs an email sign-in, once.

Your saved page · Privacy.

Alert

About each fund

EWJ

EWJ tracks the MSCI Japan. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +18.1% with distributions reinvested, against +14.3% for its benchmark, the MSCI ACWI ex USA Index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.49% 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 169 positions, with the top ten at 29.5%. It sat 4.4% below its high of Oct 6, 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, EWJ or IEMG?: In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, EWJ returned +18.1% and IEMG +15.3%.
Which is cheaper, EWJ or IEMG?: IEMG is cheaper, by 0.40 percentage points a year. That is about $40 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
How much do EWJ and IEMG overlap with the S&P 500?: By their latest filed holdings, 0% of EWJ and 0% of IEMG by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds.

Other comparisons

EWJ vs VWO EEM vs EWJ AVEM vs EWJ EMXC vs EWJ EWT vs IEMG EWZ vs IEMG EZU vs IEMG IEMG vs VPL

Where to next

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

Sources and dates

EWJ and IEMG filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

EWJ and IEMG prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

iShares page for EWJ ↗

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

Open data →

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