What is the expense ratio of HYG vs IEMG?

HYG has an expense ratio of 0.49%, while IEMG has an expense ratio of 0.09%.

HYG vs IEMG

iShares iBoxx $ High Yield Corporate Bond ETF vs iShares Core MSCI Emerging Markets ETF

Last updated: 2026-04-02

HYG iShares

iShares iBoxx $ High Yield Corporate Bond ETF (HYG) is an exchange-traded fund issued by iShares that provides exposure to below-investment-grade U.S. corporate bonds offering higher yields. It charges an above-average expense ratio of 0.49%. The fund offers a high dividend yield of 5.88%. Launched in 2007, the fund has a 19-year track record.

AUM: $16.3B ER: 0.49% Yield: 5.88% Since: Apr 4, 2007

IEMG iShares

iShares Core MSCI Emerging Markets ETF (IEMG) is an exchange-traded fund issued by iShares that provides exposure to stocks in emerging market economies with higher growth potential. It charges a low expense ratio of 0.09%. The fund offers an attractive dividend yield of 2.63%. Launched in 2012, the fund has a 14-year track record.

AUM: $132.2B ER: 0.09% Yield: 2.63% Since: Oct 18, 2012

Quick Verdict

IEMG is significantly cheaper at 0.09% vs 0.49% expense ratio, saving you approximately $781 per $10,000 invested over 10 years. Over the past year, IEMG has significantly outperformed with a 29.6% return vs 0.9%. Income investors may prefer HYG for its higher yield (5.9% vs 2.6%).

Key Metrics

Metric	HYG	IEMG
Expense Ratio	0.49%	0.09%
Dividend Yield	5.9%	2.6%
Fund Family	iShares	iShares
Category	US High Yield Bond	Emerging Markets

Performance Chart

Indexed to 100 at start (5-year comparison)

HYG -8.9%

IEMG +7.7%

Performance Comparison

Period	HYG	IEMG	Difference
1 Month	-1.13%	-6.83%	+5.70%
3 Months	-1.61%	+1.86%	-3.47%
6 Months	-1.82%	+5.01%	-6.83%
YTD	-1.61%	+1.86%	-3.47%
1 Year	+0.86%	+29.64%	-28.78%
3 Years	+5.62%	+43.63%	-38.01%
5 Years	-8.89%	+7.71%	-16.60%

Fee Impact Over Time

Estimated fee cost difference assuming 8% annual returns

Investment	Period	HYG Fees	IEMG Fees	You Save
$10.000	10 years	$960	$179	$781
$10.000	20 years	$4.052	$771	$3.281
$10.000	30 years	$12.832	$2.486	$10.347
$50.000	10 years	$4.799	$896	$3.903
$50.000	30 years	$64.162	$12.428	$51.734
$100.000	30 years	$128.324	$24.855	$103.469

Risk Metrics

Based on 5 years of daily returns

Metric	HYG	IEMG
Annualized Volatility	7.6%	18.1%
Max Drawdown	-19.3%	-38.5%
Sharpe Ratio	-0.80	-0.08

Dividend Comparison

Metric	HYG	IEMG
Annual Dividend (per share)	$4.67	$1.85
Dividend Yield	5.88%	2.63%
Distribution Frequency	Monthly	Semi-Annual or Annual

Top Holdings

IEMG Top Holdings

Name	Weight
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited!tpe/2330	11.60%
Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.!krx/005930	4.66%
Tencent Holdings Limited!hkg/0700	3.32%
SK hynix Inc.!krx/000660	2.75%
Alibaba Group Holding Limited!hkg/9988	2.22%
China Construction Bank Corporation!hkg/0939	0.82%
Delta Electronics, Inc.!tpe/2308	0.76%
HDFC Bank Limited!nse/HDFCBANK	0.75%
Reliance Industries Limited!nse/RELIANCE	0.71%
Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.!tpe/2317	0.65%

Which One Should You Choose?

Choose IEMG if...

you want the lowest fees and plan to buy and hold long-term. Over decades, the expense ratio difference compounds significantly.

Choose IEMG if...

recent performance momentum matters to your strategy. Note that past performance doesn't guarantee future results.

Choose HYG if...

you prioritize dividend income and want higher regular distributions from your portfolio.

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