EEM: iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF
iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF (EEM) is an exchange-traded fund (ETF) run by iShares (BlackRock). This fund holds stocks of large and mid sized companies in emerging market countries, such as China, India and Taiwan. It charges 0.72% a year. From April 2003 to October 2026 it returned about 9.7% a year, and its worst drop was −66.4%.
Written by the Tactfolio research team. Fund facts checked October 16, 2026. Prices through October 16, 2026.
- Yearly fee
- 0.72%
- about $72 on $10,000
- Return per year
- 9.7%
- since April 2003
- Worst drop
- −66.4%
- since 2003
- Started trading
- Apr 2003
- iShares (BlackRock)
Key points
- Expense ratio: 0.72% a year (about $72 on $10,000).
- Started trading on April 7, 2003.
- Worst drop since 2003: −66.4%.
- 12 Tactfolio classic strategies hold it.
What does EEM hold?#
This fund holds stocks of large and mid sized companies in emerging market countries, such as China, India and Taiwan. These markets can rise and fall more sharply than the US market. Changes in foreign currency values can also change what the fund is worth in US dollars.
It tracks the MSCI Emerging Markets Index (Net). It had 1,186 holdings as of October 15, 2026, according to iShares (BlackRock).
| Fact | EEM |
|---|---|
| Full name | iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF |
| Issuer | iShares (BlackRock) |
| Expense ratio | 0.72% a year |
| Started trading | April 7, 2003 |
| Tracks | MSCI Emerging Markets Index (Net) |
| Type | Emerging market stocks, ETF |
| Holdings | 1,186 holdings as of October 15, 2026 |
| Facts checked | October 16, 2026 on the iShares (BlackRock) fund page |
What is the EEM expense ratio?#
EEM charges 0.72% a year. An expense ratio is the yearly fee a fund takes to run itself. On $10,000, a 0.72% fee comes to about $72 a year.
You never get a bill for it. The fund takes the fee out of its own value a little each day.
How has EEM done since 2003?#
From April 2003 to October 2026, EEM returned about 9.7% a year. Say you put in $10,000 at the start. It would have been worth about $87,300 at the end, with every dividend reinvested.
| Measure | EEM |
|---|---|
| Total return | 773.0% |
| Return per year (CAGR) | 9.7% |
| Worst drop from a high | −66.4% |
| Volatility (how much it swings) | 27.1% |
| Last 12 months | 18.3% |
| Last 3 years, per year | 21.0% |
| Last 5 years, per year | 6.4% |
| Last 10 years, per year | 7.8% |
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.
EEM returns by year#
| Year | EEM return |
|---|---|
| 2026 (part of the year) | 15.5% |
| 2025 | 34.0% |
| 2024 | 6.5% |
| 2023 | 8.9% |
| 2022 | −20.6% |
| 2021 | −3.6% |
| 2020 | 17.0% |
| 2019 | 18.2% |
| 2018 | −15.3% |
| 2017 | 37.3% |
| 2016 | 10.9% |
| 2015 | −16.2% |
| 2014 | −3.9% |
| 2013 | −3.6% |
| 2012 | 19.1% |
| 2011 | −18.8% |
| 2010 | 16.5% |
| 2009 | 69.0% |
| 2008 | −48.9% |
| 2007 | 33.3% |
| 2006 | 31.2% |
| 2005 | 32.6% |
| 2004 | 24.6% |
| 2003 (part of the year) | 63.1% |
What was EEM’s worst drop?#
A drawdown is how far a fund falls from its last high point. EEM’s worst fall was −66.4%, from October 31, 2007 to November 20, 2008. It got back to that high on September 18, 2017.
The chart shows how far below its last high the fund was on each day. Big drops are normal for some funds. They matter because selling during a drop locks in the loss.
Which Tactfolio strategies hold EEM?#
12 classic strategies hold EEM at least some of the time. Each is a set of written rules you can open, test and copy.
- Vigilant Asset Allocation (VAA), by Wouter Keller and JW Keuning, 2017
- Protective Asset Allocation (PAA), by Wouter Keller and JW Keuning, 2016
- Adaptive Asset Allocation (AAA), by Adam Butler, Michael Philbrick, Rodrigo Gordillo, and David Varadi, 2012
- Vigilant Asset Allocation G12 (VAA-G12), by Wouter Keller and JW Keuning, 2017
- GTAA 13: Faber’s 13-asset tactical allocation, by Mebane Faber, 2013
- GTAA Aggressive 3 (Faber GTAA AGG3), by Mebane Faber, 2013
- GTAA Aggressive 6 (Faber GTAA AGG6), by Mebane Faber, 2013
- Trinity Portfolio (Meb Faber), by Mebane Faber, 2016
- Global Risk Parity Trend-Following (Clare et al.), by Andrew Clare, James Seaton, Peter N. Smith, and Stephen Thomas, 2016
- Quint Switching Filtered (Lewis Glenn’s QSF), by Lewis A. Glenn, 2018
- Kipnis Defensive Adaptive Asset Allocation (KDA), by Ilya Kipnis, 2019
- Pragmatic Asset Allocation (Quantpedia’s PAA), by Radovan Vojtko and Juliána Javorská (Quantpedia), 2024
How does EEM compare with similar ETFs?#
Funds that can stand in for EEM:
- SCHE: Schwab Emerging Markets Equity ETF, 0.06% a year
- VWO: Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets ETF, 0.06% a year
- IEMG: iShares Core MSCI Emerging Markets ETF, 0.09% a year
- VEU: Vanguard FTSE All-World ex-US ETF, 0.04% a year
See all 6 EEM alternatives, compared on the same dates as EEM.
Test EEM 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 EEM, 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 EEM. 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.
Fund facts come from iShares (BlackRock). We checked them on October 16, 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 EEM?#
EEM charges 0.72% a year, according to iShares (BlackRock) as of October 16, 2026. That is about $72 a year for every $10,000 you hold.
When did EEM start trading?#
EEM started trading on April 7, 2003. It is run by iShares (BlackRock).
What does EEM track?#
EEM tracks the MSCI Emerging Markets Index (Net). This fund holds stocks of large and mid sized companies in emerging market countries, such as China, India and Taiwan.
How much has EEM returned per year?#
From April 2003 to October 2026, EEM returned about 9.7% a year with dividends reinvested. Its worst drop was −66.4%. Past returns do not tell you what it will do next.
Which strategies use EEM?#
12 of Tactfolio’s classic strategies hold EEM, including Vigilant Asset Allocation (VAA), Protective Asset Allocation (PAA), Adaptive Asset Allocation (AAA).