IEMG ETF: fees, returns, drawdowns and holdings

How has IEMG done since 2012?#

IEMGS&P 500 (SPY)Growth of $10,000, log scale, with dividends reinvested. Past results do not tell you what happens next.

From October 2012 to October 2026, IEMG returned about 6.0% a year. The S&P 500 returned about 14.8% a year over the same dates. Say you put in $10,000 at the start. It would have been worth about $22,531 at the end, with every dividend reinvested.

Period	IEMG	S&P 500 (SPY)
1 month	−4.1%	1.5%
3 months	−1.7%	1.9%
6 months	1.0%	9.3%
Year to date	15.2%	12.8%
1 year	17.6%	16.8%
3 years per year	20.6%	22.0%
5 years per year	6.9%	12.8%
10 years per year	8.4%	15.4%
Since 2012 per year	6.0%	14.8%

Periods longer than a year show the return per year (CAGR). Prices through October 16, 2026. Figures use daily closing prices adjusted for splits, with dividends reinvested. They do not include taxes or the cost of buying and selling. Past results do not tell you what will happen next.

IEMG returns by month and year#

IEMG rose in 96 of its 169 months (57%). Its best month was November 2022, at 14.7%. Its worst was March 2020, at −16.9%.

Return each month, in percent
Year	Total	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
2026	15.2%	7.9	5.8	−9.1	12.5	6.3	0.0	−6.3	5.3	−0.7	−5.4
2025	32.6%	1.5	0.9	1.0	0.4	4.7	7.2	0.5	2.9	6.2	3.6	−1.7	1.9
2024	6.5%	−4.2	3.9	2.5	0.1	1.8	2.8	0.8	1.0	5.4	−3.1	−2.4	−1.8
2023	11.5%	8.9	−6.9	3.0	−0.4	−2.1	4.6	6.0	−6.1	−3.0	−3.5	8.1	3.9
2022	−20.0%	−0.5	−3.9	−2.9	−5.9	0.6	−5.6	0.0	−1.2	−11.3	−1.5	14.7	−2.5
2021	−0.6%	2.9	1.4	−0.6	1.7	1.8	1.2	−5.6	1.4	−3.6	1.1	−3.7	1.8
2020	17.9%	−5.9	−3.7	−16.9	7.9	3.2	6.7	8.6	3.1	−0.9	1.3	9.6	7.1
2019	17.8%	9.6	−1.1	1.2	2.2	−7.0	5.8	−2.4	−3.8	1.6	4.4	0.0	7.5
2018	−14.9%	8.0	−5.7	0.8	−2.6	−2.3	−4.7	3.0	−3.3	−1.0	−8.7	4.7	−2.9
2017	37.4%	6.6	2.0	3.5	1.9	2.3	1.1	5.5	2.3	0.0	3.3	0.1	3.7
2016	10.3%	−5.2	−1.0	12.6	0.7	−3.4	4.3	5.1	1.0	2.7	−1.0	−4.1	−0.5
2015	−14.3%	0.0	4.2	−1.4	7.3	−3.6	−2.9	−6.6	−9.4	−2.0	6.1	−2.3	−3.5
2014	−3.4%	−8.0	3.4	3.6	1.0	2.8	2.4	1.0	3.3	−7.3	0.8	−1.3	−4.2
2013	−2.8%	−0.2	−1.5	−1.0	1.4	−4.4	−5.5	1.0	−2.5	7.2	4.1	−0.6	−0.1
2012	8.5%										0.0	1.6	6.8

Each month runs from the last close of the month before. The first month counts from the first close.

How risky is IEMG compared with the S&P 500?#

Measured from October 2021 to October 2026, on the days both traded.

Beta 0.78. When the S&P 500 moved 1% in a day, IEMG tended to move about 0.78%.
Correlation 0.69. IEMG moved with the S&P 500 some of the time.
Up and down months. In months the S&P 500 rose, IEMG rose 70% as much on average. In months it fell, IEMG fell 77% as much.

Measure	IEMG	S&P 500 (SPY)
Return per year	6.9%	12.8%
Volatility	19.4%	17.1%
Worst drop	−32.7%	−24.5%
Sharpe ratio	0.44	0.79
Sortino ratio	0.64	1.15
Calmar ratio	0.21	0.52

Volatility is how much the price swings in a year. The Sharpe ratio is return per unit of volatility, the Sortino ratio counts only the falls, and the Calmar ratio is the return per year over the worst drop. Higher ratios mean more return for the risk taken.

Is IEMG above its 200-day average?#

IEMG closed 0.7% below its 200-day average on October 16, 2026. A rule that holds IEMG only above that average would be out of it today.

vs 200-day average: −0.7%; below it
50-day vs 200-day: +5.3%; trend rising
vs 52-week high: −10.7%; high of $86.00

A moving average is the average close over the last so many days. Trend rules such as the 10-month moving average strategy hold a fund only while it is above one. You can build that rule for IEMG and backtest it in a minute.

What was IEMG’s worst drop?#

Drawdown: how far IEMG was below its last high on each day.

A drawdown is how far a fund falls from its last high point. IEMG’s worst fall was −38.7%, from January 26, 2018 to March 23, 2020. It got back to that high on November 16, 2020. On October 16, 2026 it was 10.7% below its highest close.

Drop	From the high	To the bottom	Back to the high
−38.7%	Jan 26, 2018	Mar 23, 20202.2 years	Nov 16, 20208 months
−37.1%	Feb 16, 2021	Oct 24, 202220 months	Jul 17, 20252.7 years
−34.4%	Sep 5, 2014	Jan 20, 201616 months	Jul 12, 201718 months
−17.5%	Jan 2, 2013	Jun 24, 20136 months	Jun 10, 201412 months
−13.8%	Jun 22, 2026	Jul 29, 202637 days	Not yet

Big drops are normal for some funds. They matter because selling during a drop locks in the loss.

What does IEMG hold?#

This fund owns thousands of companies in countries whose economies are still growing, such as China, India and Taiwan. These stock markets can rise and fall a lot. Changes in foreign currency values and local politics can also move its value.

It tracks the MSCI Emerging Markets Investable Market Index (USD) (Net). It had 2,857 holdings as of October 15, 2026, according to iShares (BlackRock).

What is the IEMG expense ratio?#

IEMG charges 0.09% a year. An expense ratio is the yearly fee a fund takes to run itself. On $10,000, a 0.09% fee comes to about $9 a year. Of the 162 ETFs on Tactfolio, 52% charge more.

You never get a bill for it. The fund takes the fee out of its own value a little each day.

0.09%

Which Tactfolio strategies hold IEMG?#

No classic strategy holds IEMG yet. You can add it to your own rules in the builder and see how they would have done.

How does IEMG compare with similar ETFs?#

Funds that can stand in for IEMG:

SCHE: Schwab Emerging Markets Equity ETF, 0.06% a year
VWO: Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets ETF, 0.06% a year
EEM: iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF, 0.72% a year
VEU: Vanguard FTSE All-World ex-US ETF, 0.04% a year

See all 6 IEMG alternatives, compared on the same dates as IEMG.

Test IEMG in your own rules#

Tactfolio is a platform where you build rules-based investing strategies, backtest them on decades of real prices, share them, and run them automatically in your own Alpaca account. Open the builder, add IEMG, and see how a rule such as “hold it only above its 200-day average” would have done. Strategies run on daily prices and hold US stocks and ETFs only.

The details#

Prices come from Tactfolio’s stored daily prices for IEMG and SPY. Each close is adjusted for splits, and dividends are reinvested on the day the fund pays them out. CAGR is the steady yearly return that turns the starting value into the ending value. Volatility is the yearly standard deviation of daily returns. Beta and correlation compare daily returns with the S&P 500 over the same dates.

Fund facts come from iShares (BlackRock). We checked them on October 17, 2026. Read what a backtest simulates and how to read drawdown and CAGR for more on these measures.

Common questions#

What is the expense ratio of IEMG?#

IEMG charges 0.09% a year, according to iShares (BlackRock) as of October 17, 2026. That is about $9 a year for every $10,000 you hold.

When did IEMG start trading?#

IEMG started trading on October 18, 2012. It is run by iShares (BlackRock).

What does IEMG track?#

IEMG tracks the MSCI Emerging Markets Investable Market Index (USD) (Net). This fund owns thousands of companies in countries whose economies are still growing, such as China, India and Taiwan.

How much has IEMG returned per year?#

From October 2012 to October 2026, IEMG returned about 6.0% a year with dividends reinvested. Its worst drop was −38.7%. Past returns do not tell you what it will do next.

Is IEMG above its 200-day moving average?#

On October 16, 2026, IEMG closed 0.7% below its 200-day moving average. This page updates after each US market close.

Which strategies use IEMG?#

None of Tactfolio’s classic strategies hold IEMG yet. You can test it in your own rules in the builder.

Sources#

iShares (BlackRock): iShares Core MSCI Emerging Markets ETF fund page