What is the expense ratio of IEMG vs SPY?

IEMG has an expense ratio of 0.09%, while SPY has an expense ratio of 0.09%.

IEMG vs SPY

iShares Core MSCI Emerging Markets ETF vs State Street SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust

Last updated: 2026-04-02

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

SPY State Street

State Street SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) is an exchange-traded fund issued by State Street that provides exposure to large-cap U.S. equities across growth and value styles. It charges a low expense ratio of 0.09%. The fund offers a moderate dividend yield of 1.13%. Launched in 1993, the fund has a 33-year track record.

AUM: $636.7B ER: 0.09% Yield: 1.13% Since: Jan 22, 1993

Quick Verdict

Over the past year, IEMG has significantly outperformed with a 29.6% return vs 16.8%. Income investors may prefer IEMG for its higher yield (2.6% vs 1.1%).

Key Metrics

Metric	IEMG	SPY
Expense Ratio	0.09%	0.09%
Dividend Yield	2.6%	1.1%
Fund Family	iShares	State Street
Category	Emerging Markets	US Large Cap Blend

Performance Chart

Indexed to 100 at start (5-year comparison)

IEMG +7.7%

SPY +61.2%

Performance Comparison

Period	IEMG	SPY	Difference
1 Month	-6.83%	-4.54%	-2.29%
3 Months	+1.86%	-4.09%	+5.95%
6 Months	+5.01%	-2.09%	+7.10%
YTD	+1.86%	-4.09%	+5.95%
1 Year	+29.64%	+16.80%	+12.84%
3 Years	+43.63%	+59.45%	-15.82%
5 Years	+7.71%	+61.25%	-53.54%

Fee Impact Over Time

Estimated fee cost difference assuming 8% annual returns

Investment	Period	IEMG Fees	SPY Fees	You Save
$10.000	10 years	$179	$179	$0
$10.000	20 years	$771	$771	$0
$10.000	30 years	$2.486	$2.486	$0
$50.000	10 years	$896	$896	$0
$50.000	30 years	$12.428	$12.428	$0
$100.000	30 years	$24.855	$24.855	$0

Risk Metrics

Based on 5 years of daily returns

Metric	IEMG	SPY
Annualized Volatility	18.1%	17.1%
Max Drawdown	-38.5%	-25.4%
Sharpe Ratio	-0.08	0.38

Dividend Comparison

Metric	IEMG	SPY
Annual Dividend (per share)	$1.85	$7.38
Dividend Yield	2.63%	1.13%
Distribution Frequency	Semi-Annual or Annual	Quarterly

Top Holdings

0 of top 9 holdings overlap (0% overlap in 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%

SPY Top Holdings

Name	Weight
NVIDIA CorporationNVDA	7.58%
Apple Inc.AAPL	6.66%
Microsoft CorporationMSFT	4.91%
Amazon.com, Inc.AMZN	3.64%
Broadcom Inc.AVGO	2.62%
Alphabet Inc.GOOG	2.40%
Meta Platforms, Inc.META	2.24%
Tesla, Inc.TSLA	1.87%
Berkshire Hathaway Inc.BRK.B	1.57%

Which One Should You Choose?

Choose IEMG if...

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

Choose IEMG if...

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

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