ETF Versus

IEMG vs XLK

iShares Core MSCI Emerging Markets ETF vs State Street Technology Select Sector SPDR ETF

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
XLK

State Street Technology Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLK) is an exchange-traded fund that provides exposure to us sector - technology securities. It charges a low expense ratio of 0.08%. The fund offers a modest dividend yield of 0.57%. Launched in 1998, the fund has a 28-year track record.

AUM: $82.2B ER: 0.08% Yield: 0.57% Since: Dec 16, 1998

Quick Verdict

Both funds have nearly identical expense ratios (0.08% vs 0.09%), so fees are not a differentiator here. Both funds have delivered similar 1-year returns (29.6% vs 29.7%), tracking closely. Income investors may prefer IEMG for its higher yield (2.6% vs 0.6%).

Key Metrics

Metric IEMG XLK
Expense Ratio 0.09% 0.08%
Dividend Yield 2.6% 0.6%
Fund Family iShares N/A
Category Emerging Markets US Sector - Technology

Performance Chart

Indexed to 100 at start (5-year comparison)

65 96 127 158 189 220 2021-04 2022-06 2023-09 2024-12 2026-04
IEMG +7.7%
XLK +95.1%

Performance Comparison

Period IEMG XLK Difference
1 Month -6.83% -3.32% -3.51%
3 Months +1.86% -6.51% +8.37%
6 Months +5.01% -5.23% +10.24%
YTD +1.86% -6.51% +8.37%
1 Year +29.64% +29.73% -0.09%
3 Years +43.63% +78.96% -35.33%
5 Years +7.71% +95.13% -87.42%

Fee Impact Over Time

Estimated fee cost difference assuming 8% annual returns

Investment Period IEMG Fees XLK Fees You Save
$10.000 10 years $179 $159 $20
$10.000 20 years $771 $686 $85
$10.000 30 years $2.486 $2.212 $273
$50.000 10 years $896 $797 $99
$50.000 30 years $12.428 $11.061 $1.366
$100.000 30 years $24.855 $22.123 $2.732

Risk Metrics

Based on 5 years of daily returns

Metric IEMG XLK
Annualized Volatility 18.1% 24.7%
Max Drawdown -38.5% -34.0%
Sharpe Ratio -0.08 0.49

Dividend Comparison

Metric IEMG XLK
Annual Dividend (per share) $1.85 $0.77
Dividend Yield 2.63% 0.57%
Distribution Frequency Semi-Annual or Annual Quarterly

Top Holdings

0 of top 10 holdings overlap (0% overlap in top holdings)

IEMG Top Holdings

NameWeight
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited!tpe/233011.60%
Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.!krx/0059304.66%
Tencent Holdings Limited!hkg/07003.32%
SK hynix Inc.!krx/0006602.75%
Alibaba Group Holding Limited!hkg/99882.22%
China Construction Bank Corporation!hkg/09390.82%
Delta Electronics, Inc.!tpe/23080.76%
HDFC Bank Limited!nse/HDFCBANK0.75%
Reliance Industries Limited!nse/RELIANCE0.71%
Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.!tpe/23170.65%

XLK Top Holdings

NameWeight
NVIDIA CorporationNVDA15.50%
Apple Inc.AAPL13.63%
Microsoft CorporationMSFT10.05%
Broadcom Inc.AVGO5.37%
Micron Technology, Inc.MU3.39%
Palantir Technologies Inc.PLTR2.98%
Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.AMD2.95%
Cisco Systems, Inc.CSCO2.73%
Applied Materials, Inc.AMAT2.42%
Lam Research CorporationLRCX2.38%

Which One Should You Choose?

Choose IEMG if...

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

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