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

In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, IEMG returned +15.3% and XLB +18.5%.

Which is cheaper, IEMG or XLB?

XLB is cheaper, by 0.01 percentage points a year. That is about $1 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

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

By their latest filed holdings, 0% of IEMG and 100% of XLB by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

Across categories

IEMG vs XLB: Differences, Returns & Fees

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Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, IEMG returned +15.3% to XLB's +18.5%; 0% of their weight is in the same names.

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Net assets on Oct 27, 2026: $150.4bn for iShares Core MSCI Emerging Markets ETF and $8.1bn for State Street Materials Select Sector SPDR ETF.

IEMG on its own →XLB on its own →

At a glance

+15.3%

IEMG total return, 1 year

+18.5%

XLB total return, 1 year

0.09%

IEMG expense ratio

0.08%

XLB expense ratio

Pair scorecard

XLB costs 0.01 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 3.2 points; IEMG is 18.6 times larger.

IEMG vs XLB: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	IEMG	XLB
Return
Measure	IEMG	XLB
Total return, 1 year	+15.3%	+18.5%
Drawdown
Measure	IEMG	XLB
Below its high	10.1%, high on Jun 22, 2026
Benchmark
Measure	IEMG	XLB
What it tracks	MSCI Emerging Markets Investable Market Index (IMI)	Materials Select Sector Index
Cost and size
Measure	IEMG	XLB
Expense ratio	0.09%	0.08%
Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026	$150.4bn	$8.1bn
Holdings
Measure	IEMG	XLB
Holdings in common	0%
Top ten holdings, share of the fund	32.7%	58.5%

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

What they share

By the books each fund has filed, IEMG and XLB 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 IEMG XLB

ENGIE ENERGIA CHILE SA 0.01% 4.98%

Only in one fund ↓

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%

Only in XLB

LINDE PLC 12.96%

NEWMONT CORP 6.56%

FREEPORT MCMORAN INC 5.23%

VULCAN MATERIALS CO 4.89%

NUCOR CORP 4.89%

AIR PRODUCTS + CHEMICALS INC 4.84%

STEEL DYNAMICS INC 4.77%

SHERWIN WILLIAMS CO 4.73%

Check overlap with more funds →

Side by side

IEMG iShares Core MSCI Emerging Markets ETF XLB State Street Materials Select Sector SPDR ETF

Where it sits Stock ETF Stock ETF

Issuer iShares State Street

What it is Tracks the MSCI Emerging Markets Tracks an index of Materials

Total return, 1 year +15.3% +18.5%

Its benchmark over the same days +16.3% (EEM) not measured

Gap to its benchmark −1.0 pts vs EEM not measured

Expense ratio 0.09% 0.08%

Already in the S&P 500 0.0% 99.8%

Holdings 2857 25

Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026 $150.4bn $8.1bn

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

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.

XLB

XLB tracks an index of Materials. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +18.5% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.08% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer for Oct 27, 2026, 100% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 25 positions, with the top ten at 58.5%.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, IEMG or XLB?: In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, IEMG returned +15.3% and XLB +18.5%.
Which is cheaper, IEMG or XLB?: XLB is cheaper, by 0.01 percentage points a year. That is about $1 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
How much do IEMG and XLB overlap with the S&P 500?: By their latest filed holdings, 0% of IEMG and 100% of XLB by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds.

Other comparisons

IEMG vs XHB IEMG vs XLV IEMG vs XLF IEMG vs VPU VWO vs XLB EEM vs XLB AVEM vs XLB EMXC vs XLB

Where to next

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

Sources and dates

IEMG filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

IEMG prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

iShares page for IEMG ↗

XLB filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

XLB prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

State Street website ↗

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 XLB, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/iemg-vs-xlb

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