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

In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, IEMG returned +15.3% and IXUS +14.1%.

Which is cheaper, IEMG or IXUS?

IXUS is cheaper, by 0.02 percentage points a year. That is about $2 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

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

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

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

Across categories

IEMG vs IXUS: Differences, Returns & Fees

Share on X Download as PDF

Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, IEMG returned +15.3% to IXUS's +14.1%; 30% of their weight is in the same names.

askIQ about this page

askIQ about IEMG and IXUS

Net assets on Oct 27, 2026: $150.4bn for iShares Core MSCI Emerging Markets ETF and $57.6bn for iShares Core MSCI Total International Stock ETF.

IEMG on its own →IXUS on its own →

At a glance

+15.3%

IEMG total return, 1 year

+14.1%

IXUS total return, 1 year

0.09%

IEMG expense ratio

0.07%

IXUS expense ratio

Pair scorecard

IXUS costs 0.02 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 1.2 points; IEMG is 2.6 times larger.

IEMG vs IXUS: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	IEMG	IXUS
Return
Measure	IEMG	IXUS
Total return, 1 year	+15.3%	+14.1%
Drawdown
Measure	IEMG	IXUS
Below its high	10.1%, high on Jun 22, 2026	4.9%, high on Sep 4, 2026
Benchmark
Measure	IEMG	IXUS
What it tracks	MSCI Emerging Markets Investable Market Index (IMI)	MSCI ACWI ex USA IMI
Cost and size
Measure	IEMG	IXUS
Expense ratio	0.09%	0.07%
Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026	$150.4bn	$57.6bn
Holdings
Measure	IEMG	IXUS
Holdings in common	30%
Top ten holdings, share of the fund	32.7%	13.5%

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

Risk and return

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

IEMG IXUS

Return

Total return edge IXUS +120.7% +177.4%

Annualized edge IXUS +5.8% +7.5%

Price return edge IXUS +56.0% +90.2%

Risk

Volatility edge IXUS 18.2% 15.8%

Max drawdown edge IXUS (slight) −37.1% −34.6%

Downside capture 97.1% 99.4%

Beta 0.96 0.99

Risk-adjusted

Sharpe edge IXUS 0.30 0.42

Sortino edge IXUS 0.42 0.59

Treynor 0.057 0.068

Calmar edge IXUS 0.16 0.22

Against the benchmark

Alpha +0.7% a year +0.3% a year

Alpha t-stat 2.17 0.64

Information ratio 0.38 0.14

Tracking error 1.4% 1.5%

Each against its own benchmark: IEMG against EEM, Nov 2, 2012 to Oct 23, 2026; IXUS against ACWX, Nov 2, 2012 to Oct 23, 2026.

Reading

IXUS returned more: +177.4% to +120.7%. IXUS swung less: 15.8% to 18.2%. IXUS fell slightly less at its worst: −34.6% to −37.1%.

Full scorecard

19 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓

Risk and return: IEMG vs IXUS: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	IEMG	IXUS	Edge	How it is measured
Return
Total return	+120.7%	+177.4%	IXUS	Price change plus distributions, reinvested.
Annualized	+5.8%	+7.5%	IXUS	Total return as a yearly rate.
Price return	+56.0%	+90.2%	IXUS	Price change alone, distributions left out.
Risk
Volatility	18.2%	15.8%	IXUS	Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier.
Downside deviation	13.0%	11.3%	IXUS	Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate.
Max drawdown	−37.1%	−34.6%	IXUS (slight)	Deepest fall from a high to the low after it.
Upside capture	94.6%	99.6%		Share of its benchmark's rise caught in the weeks it rose.
Downside capture	97.1%	99.4%		Share of its benchmark's fall taken in the weeks it fell. Lower is better.
Beta	0.96	0.99	Not an edge	How far it moves for each 1% its benchmark moves.
R squared	1.00	0.99	Not an edge	Share of its weekly moves its benchmark explains.
Risk-adjusted
Sharpe	0.30	0.42	IXUS	Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility.
Sortino	0.42	0.59	IXUS	Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation.
Treynor	0.057	0.068		Return above Treasury bills per unit of beta.
Calmar	0.16	0.22	IXUS	Annualized return divided by the max drawdown.
Against the benchmark
Benchmark	EEM	ACWX		The ETF each fund is measured against.
Alpha	+0.7% a year	+0.3% a year	IXUS not significant	Yearly return beyond what its beta to the benchmark predicts.
Alpha t-stat	2.17	0.64	Not an edge	How sure the alpha is. Below 2, it could be chance.
Alpha range	+0.1% to +1.4%	−0.5% to +1.1%	IXUS includes zero	The 95% range for the yearly alpha.
Information ratio	0.38	0.14		Return against its benchmark per unit of tracking error.
Tracking error	1.4%	1.5%	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

30%

By the books each fund has filed, IEMG and IXUS hold 30% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Oct 27, 2026.

50%

0 half 100%

half

30% in common

Positions both hold · largest shared weight first IEMG IXUS

TAIWAN SEMICONDUCTOR MANUFACTURING 14.03% 4.39%

SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS LTD 6.05% 1.90%

SK HYNIX 4.31% 1.35%

TENCENT HOLDINGS 2.32% 0.73%

ALIBABA GROUP HOLDING 1.60% 0.50%

MEDIATEK 1.36% 0.43%

CHINA CONSTRUCTION BANK CORP H 0.83% 0.26%

SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS NON VOTING PRE 0.80% 0.25%

DELTA ELECTRONICS 0.70% 0.22%

HON HAI PRECISION INDUSTRY 0.72% 0.22%

HDFC BANK 0.63% 0.20%

ICICI BANK 0.60% 0.19%

Only in one fund ↓

Only in IEMG

ABOITIZ EQUITY VENTURES PHP1 0.01%

ACC LTD 0.01%

ADARO ANDALAN INDONESIA 0.01%

ADMIE HOLDING COMPANY SA SHRS 0.01%

AL AHLI BANK 0.01%

AL MASANE AL KOBRA MINING 0.01%

AL MOAMMAR INFORMATION SYSTEMS 0.01%

AL NAHDI MEDICAL 0.01%

Only in IXUS

ASML HOLDING 1.53%

ROCHE PS PAR AG 0.82%

SHELL 0.73%

HSBC HOLDINGS PLC 0.72%

NOVARTIS AG 0.69%

ROYAL BANK OF CANADA 0.68%

ASTRAZENECA PLC 0.62%

NESTLE SA 0.62%

Check overlap with more funds →

Side by side

IEMG iShares Core MSCI Emerging Markets ETF IXUS iShares Core MSCI Total International Stock ETF

Where it sits Stock ETF Stock ETF

Issuer iShares iShares

What it is Tracks the MSCI Emerging Markets Tracks the MSCI Total International Stock

Total return, 1 year +15.3% +14.1%

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

Gap to its benchmark −1.0 pts vs EEM −0.2 pts vs ACWX

Expense ratio 0.09% 0.07%

Already in the S&P 500 0.0% 0.0%

Holdings 2857 4584

Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026 $150.4bn $57.6bn

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

Client brief · page 1 of 2 Report BR-5CBA07D44D

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

What each follows. IEMG follows MSCI Emerging Markets Investable Market Index (IMI) and IXUS follows MSCI ACWI ex USA IMI.
Holdings in common. 30% of the weight is in the same securities (holdings dated Oct 27, 2026).
One-year total return (similar). Over 1 year to Oct 28, 2026 IEMG returned +15.3% and IXUS +14.1% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 1.2 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

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.

IXUS

IXUS tracks the MSCI Total International Stock. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +14.1% 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 4,584 positions, with the top ten at 13.5%. It sat 4.9% below its high of Sep 4, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, IEMG or IXUS?: In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, IEMG returned +15.3% and IXUS +14.1%.
Which is cheaper, IEMG or IXUS?: IXUS is cheaper, by 0.02 percentage points a year. That is about $2 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
How much do IEMG and IXUS overlap with the S&P 500?: By their latest filed holdings, 0% of IEMG and 0% of IXUS by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds.

Other comparisons

IEMG vs VEU EFA vs IEMG IEMG vs VXUS ACWX vs IEMG IXUS vs VWO EEM vs IXUS AVEM vs IXUS EMXC vs IXUS

Where to next

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

Sources and dates

IEMG filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

IEMG prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

iShares page for IEMG ↗

IXUS filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

IXUS prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

iShares page for IXUS ↗

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

Open data →

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