Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
IEMG vs XLG: Differences, Returns & Fees
Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, IEMG returned +15.3% to XLG's +6.4%; 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 $11.9bn for Invesco S&P 500 Top 50 ETF.
Pair scorecard
IEMG costs 0.11 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 8.9 points; IEMG is 12.6 times larger.
| Measure | IEMG | XLG |
|---|---|---|
| Return | ||
| Total return, 1 year | +15.3% | +6.4% |
| Drawdown | ||
| Below its high | 10.1%, high on Jun 22, 2026 | |
| Benchmark | ||
| What it tracks | MSCI Emerging Markets Investable Market Index (IMI) | S&P 500 Top 50 Index |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.09% | 0.20% |
| Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026 | $150.4bn | $11.9bn |
| Holdings | ||
| Holdings in common | 0% | |
| Top ten holdings, share of the fund | 32.7% | 60.3% |
Holdings in common uses holdings dated Oct 27, 2026. Method
Risk and return
Nov 2, 2012 to Oct 23, 2026 · 729 weekly returnsEach against its own benchmark: IEMG against EEM, Nov 2, 2012 to Oct 23, 2026; XLG against IVV, May 20, 2005 to Oct 23, 2026.
XLG returned more: +642.7% to +120.7%. XLG swung less: 16.2% to 18.2%. XLG fell less at its worst: −28.7% to −37.1%.
Full scorecard
19 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
| Measure | IEMG | XLG | Edge | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return | ||||
| Total return | +120.7% | +642.7% | XLG | Price change plus distributions, reinvested. |
| Annualized | +5.8% | +15.4% | XLG | Total return as a yearly rate. |
| Price return | +56.0% | +498.1% | XLG | Price change alone, distributions left out. |
| Risk | ||||
| Volatility | 18.2% | 16.2% | XLG | Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier. |
| Downside deviation | 13.0% | 11.0% | XLG | Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate. |
| Max drawdown | −37.1% | −28.7% | XLG | Deepest fall from a high to the low after it. |
| Upside capture | 94.6% | 97.7% | Share of its benchmark's rise caught in the weeks it rose. | |
| Downside capture | 97.1% | 98.5% | Share of its benchmark's fall taken in the weeks it fell. Lower is better. | |
| Beta | 0.96 | 0.95 | Not an edge | How far it moves for each 1% its benchmark moves. |
| R squared | 1.00 | 0.95 | Not an edge | Share of its weekly moves its benchmark explains. |
| Risk-adjusted | ||||
| Sharpe | 0.30 | 0.85 | XLG | Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility. |
| Sortino | 0.42 | 1.25 | XLG | Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation. |
| Treynor | 0.057 | 0.108 | Return above Treasury bills per unit of beta. | |
| Calmar | 0.16 | 0.54 | XLG | Annualized return divided by the max drawdown. |
| Against the benchmark | ||||
| Benchmark | EEM | IVV | The ETF each fund is measured against. | |
| Alpha | +0.7% a year | +0.5% a year | XLG not significant | Yearly return beyond what its beta to the benchmark predicts. |
| Alpha t-stat | 2.17 | 0.68 | Not an edge | How sure the alpha is. Below 2, it could be chance. |
| Alpha range | +0.1% to +1.4% | −1.0% to +2.1% | XLG includes zero | The 95% range for the yearly alpha. |
| Information ratio | 0.38 | 0.02 | Return against its benchmark per unit of tracking error. | |
| Tracking error | 1.4% | 3.8% | 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, IEMG and XLG 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
IEMG and XLG on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
IEMG and XLG do different jobs. What does each one do in a portfolio?
- What each follows. IEMG follows MSCI Emerging Markets Investable Market Index (IMI) and XLG follows S&P 500 Top 50 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 IEMG returned +15.3% and XLG +6.4% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 8.9 points.
Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
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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.
XLG
XLG tracks the S&P 500 top 50. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +6.4% with distributions reinvested, against +13.7% for its benchmark, the S&P 500 Index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.20% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer for Oct 27, 2026, 98% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 53 positions, with the top ten at 60.3%.
Questions people ask
- Which returned more over the last year, IEMG or XLG?
- In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, IEMG returned +15.3% and XLG +6.4%.
- Which is cheaper, IEMG or XLG?
- IEMG is cheaper, by 0.11 percentage points a year. That is about $11 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
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.
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ETFIQ, IEMG against XLG, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/iemg-vs-xlg
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