iShares Emerging Markets Equity Factor ETF

iShares Emerging Markets Equity Factor ETF (EMGF) is a BlackRock index fund. It tracks the STOXX Emerging Markets Equity Factor Index, which picks and weights large and mid-size emerging-market stocks for five traits: momentum, quality, value, low volatility and smaller size. Its 0.26% expense ratio is close to the 0.25% average for similar funds. Broad funds such as IEMG (0.09%) and VWO (0.07%) cost much less.

• Over the year to Oct 27, 2026, EMGF returned +16.5%, 2nd of 9 among similar funds.
• Its 5-year annualized return was +9.2% and its 10-year +8.9%.
• In the 2020 COVID crash it fell 31.4% and regained its old high 4.2 months after the low.
• Its worst full calendar year was 2018 (-19.7%); its best was 2017 (+42.4%).
• The deepest fall in its price history was 40.3% (Jan 26, 2018 to Mar 23, 2020), recovered by Jan 5, 2021.

As of Aug 31, 2026, the fund held 694 securities; the ten largest made up 31.11% of assets.

• Over the three months to Aug 31, 2026, investors added a net $51.6M (creations minus redemptions, per the N-PORT report).
• Monthly total returns reported for that quarter: +0.26%, -6.29%, +5.08%.

EMGF tracks an index built by STOXX Ltd. The index starts with the STOXX Emerging Markets Index, which weights large and mid-size companies by the value of their freely traded shares. Together they make up about the top 85% of each country's investable market. An optimization process then picks and weights stocks to get the most exposure to five "factors." A factor is a stock trait that research links to long-run returns.

Momentum looks at price trends and earnings trends. Quality uses gross profitability, share dilution and accounting signals, plus carbon emissions intensity and greenhouse-gas reduction targets rated by ISS. Value uses book-to-price and dividend, earnings and cash-flow yields. Low volatility uses the past 12 months of price swings. Size favors smaller companies. The index keeps country and industry weights near the parent index, limits trading and aims for similar overall risk. No stock can top 10% at a rebalance. Stocks above 4.5% must add up to less than 22.5%. The index rebalances quarterly.

BlackRock Fund Advisors uses "representative sampling." That means it may hold a close-matching sample instead of every index stock. At least 80% of assets go into index stocks or their depositary receipts. Up to 20% can go into futures, swaps or cash. As of August 31, 2026, the fund held 694 securities, and portfolio turnover was 20%.

• EMGF charges 0.26% a year, versus an average of 0.25% for the similar funds below (6th of 9, cheapest first).
• Of that, 0.25% is the management fee; the rest covers other fund expenses.
• Using the prospectus's standard example, $10,000 invested would cost about $27 in the first year and $331 over 10 years (assuming a 5% annual return).

It adds emerging-market stocks with a factor tilt, but it has had sharp drops and a heavy tilt toward a few Asian markets and chipmakers.

EMGF could add stocks from Taiwan, South Korea, India and China, markets that US-focused portfolios often hold little of. The fund launched in December 2015, so it has no 2008 record. In the 2020 COVID crash it fell 31.4% and recovered by July 29, 2020, about four months later. In 2022 it fell 26.7% and needed about 21 months to recover, until July 3, 2024. Its worst calendar year was 2018, when it lost 18.64%. Its deepest drop was 40.3%, from January 26, 2018 to March 23, 2020. It recovered by January 5, 2021. Someone who had to sell during a stretch like that would lock in losses. Income is modest: a 2.14% yield as of October 27, 2026, paid twice a year. In the SEC's standard example, costs are $27 for the first year on $10,000. Past results don't predict future ones, and a plan should look at the whole portfolio, not one fund.

Matched by holdings overlap from the latest N-PORT reports.