iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF
Performance
Total return to 23 Oct 2026, distributions reinvested, before franking. ASX figures are to 30 Sept 2026 and gross of franking, so they run higher for franked Australian funds.
What it costs to hold
Management fee plus trading costs, compared with similar funds.
A typical fund among Emerging markets equity funds would cost $241 (0.48% a year), so IEM is $109 dearer.
Spread is the average gap between buying and selling prices on the ASX. Fees are shown on a flat balance, not compounded on growth. Excludes tax and any adviser or platform fees.
Calendar-year returns
Where the money is
Look-through exposure as at 2 Sept 2026 · 957 securities · top 10 = 26.2%
Country
Sector
Monthly returns
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 5.4 | 2.6 | −9.9 | 10.7 | 9.2 | 2.7 | −5.5 | 0.6 | 3.3 | −8.7 | 8.6YTD | ||
| 2025 | 3.2 | −0.6 | −0.5 | −1.0 | 4.5 | 4.1 | 3.2 | 0.6 | 6.0 | 4.9 | −3.1 | 0.4 | 23.6 |
| 2024 | −0.5 | 5.0 | 2.5 | 0.6 | −3.4 | 6.3 | 2.3 | −2.9 | 5.3 | 0.1 | −2.6 | 3.9 | 17.3 |
| 2023 | 3.0 | −2.2 | 3.1 | −0.2 | 0.1 | −0.4 | 7.4 | −2.7 | −2.6 | −3.2 | 3.7 | 0.4 | 6.0 |
| 2022 | 0.7 | −6.3 | −3.9 | −1.7 | −0.6 | −2.2 | −2.5 | 2.1 | −6.5 | −1.9 | 8.4 | −0.2 | −14.4 |
| 2021 | 3.9 | −2.2 | 0.8 | 1.1 | 1.4 | 3.7 | −5.4 | 2.1 | −1.4 | −3.0 | 1.1 | −0.2 | 1.4 |
| 2020 | −0.1 | −4.2 | −10.6 | 5.0 | −2.3 | 4.8 | 3.5 | 1.9 | −1.5 | 5.2 | 4.5 | 2.0 | 7.2 |
| 2019 | 4.9 | 2.2 | 0.2 | 3.2 | −5.7 | 4.9 | 0.5 | −3.1 | 2.5 | 1.8 | 1.3 | 3.8 | 17.3 |
| 2018 | 4.6 | −1.1 | −1.6 | 2.1 | −3.8 | −2.5 | 2.4 | −1.0 | 0.7 | −8.5 | 3.0 | 0.8 | −5.5 |
| 2017 | 0.4 | 1.9 | 3.2 | 4.1 | 3.9 | −3.1 | 2.4 | 2.6 | 0.5 | 6.0 | 2.0 | 0.1 | 26.2 |
| 2016 | −5.4 | −0.1 | 6.3 | 0.7 | 2.5 | 0.2 | 4.6 | 2.3 | −0.2 | −0.3 | −2.6 | 4.1 | 12.1 |
| 2015 | 6.9 | 2.0 | 0.2 | 3.9 | −0.1 | −4.5 | −2.1 | −6.5 | −1.6 | 6.7 | −5.1 | −4.1 | −5.4 |
| 2014 | −7.1 | 1.9 | 0.0 | 0.2 | 4.1 | 0.7 | 3.8 | 0.9 | −1.4 | 0.7 | 3.3 | −1.6 | 5.3 |
| 2013 | 0.7 | 0.1 | −3.9 | 1.6 | 5.7 | −4.1 | 5.2 | −2.6 | 3.4 | 3.3 | 2.4 | 1.3 | 13.2 |
| 2012 | 4.8 | 5.5 | −0.4 | −1.2 | −4.7 | −2.7 | 0.0 | 0.9 | 5.3 | −0.1 | 0.8 | 4.4 | 12.7 |
| 2011 | −1.2 | −3.6 | 5.0 | −3.0 | −0.7 | −2.7 | −3.1 | −7.7 | −4.1 | 5.0 | −5.2 | −0.5 | −20.4 |
| 2010 | −6.7 | 0.7 | 5.1 | −0.2 | −0.8 | −2.5 | 3.4 | −2.6 | 3.4 | 1.3 | 0.3 | −0.1 | 0.9 |
| 2009 | 2.9 | −5.7 | 5.7 | 9.4 | 5.4 | −3.2 | 7.1 | −1.4 | 3.5 | −2.6 | 2.9 | 4.7 | 31.6 |
| 2008 | 0.3 | −2.9 | 5.6 | 1.9 | −10.7 | −2.7 | 1.5 | −7.8 | −11.2 | −7.7 | 0.4 | −29.8 |
Total return each month in %, distributions reinvested, before franking. The latest month runs to the last price date. The first year starts from listing.
Top holdings
Most similar funds
Overlap is the share of the portfolio held in common, look-through. Correlation is of daily returns. High overlap means close substitutes.
IEM questions answered
Written from the latest data on this page. General information only, not financial advice.
How diversified is iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF?
iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF holds 957 securities, and its ten largest positions make up 26.2% of the fund, more spread out than the 37.6% typical of Emerging markets equity funds. That makes it widely diversified.
Its largest country exposure is Taiwan at 33.7%, and its biggest sector is Information Technology at 48.4%, based on holdings as at 2 Sept 2026.
Which ETFs does IEM double up with most?
IEM shares the most holdings with Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets Shares ETF (VGE) (82% overlap), Vanguard FTSE Asia Ex-Japan Shares Index ETF (VAE) (63% overlap) and Betashares MSCI Emerging Markets Complex ETF (BEMG) (44% overlap). Overlap is the share of the portfolio the two funds hold in common, looking through to the underlying securities.
At 82%, owning both IEM and VGE would mostly double up on the same investments rather than spread your money further. Of these, VAE has the lowest fee, at 0.40% a year against 0.69% for IEM.
How is iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF managed – active or passive?
iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF is passively managed: it follows an index and holds what that index holds, rather than relying on a manager's stock picks.
Among Emerging markets equity funds, active funds charge a median 0.72% a year and index funds 0.35%.
What will I pay in fees for IEM?
IEM charges a management fee of 0.69% a year, about $69 for every $10,000 invested. Only 23% of the 471 ASX ETFs we track charge more, and the median fee is 0.44%. Among Emerging markets equity funds, the median is 0.45%.
Lower-cost funds with a similar focus include Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets Shares ETF (VGE) at 0.48%, iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ex China ETF (EMXC) at 0.25% and Betashares MSCI Emerging Markets Complex ETF (BEMG) at 0.35%.
If you would rather have a manager choose the investments, active options such as Fidelity Global Emerging Markets Active ETF (FEMX) at 0.99% and Bell Global Emerging Companies Class A Active ETF (B1SM) at 1.34% cost more.
The fee is taken from the fund's assets and is already reflected in its returns. You'll also pay brokerage when you buy or sell, and the bid-ask spread, which has averaged 0.06% for IEM.
Does iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF follow a theme?
No. iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF is a broad equity fund: it aims to cover a wide slice of its market (Emerging markets) rather than one theme or sector.
What is under the hood of IEM?
As at 2 Sept 2026, IEM's largest holding is Ish Msci Em Usd ETF Dist (99.5%). Some holdings are other ETFs, which we look through to their own holdings when measuring exposure and overlap.
It follows an index. Most broad share indices weight companies by market size, so the largest companies take the biggest share; the exact rules for IEM's index are in the issuer's PDS. Its top 10 weighting of 26.2% compares with 37.6% for similar funds.
How well has iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF performed?
Based on its category, iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF aims to grow your capital in line with the index it tracks.
To 23 Oct 2026, with distributions reinvested, it returned 7.0% over 1 year (median 7.4%; ranked 5 of 9), 17.4% a year over 3 years and 7.0% a year over 5 years. The medians and rankings compare it with Emerging markets equity funds. Since listing in 2009 it has returned 3.8% a year.
Tracking difference is the gap between a fund's return and its index's return. We don't hold index returns, so we can't measure it for IEM; the issuer reports it in the monthly fact sheet. As a guide, a well-run index fund trails its index by about its fee, here 0.69% a year, and a much bigger gap is a warning sign.
Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance.