ISHARES MSCI EM

MSCI Emerging Markets covers large and mid-cap companies across emerging economies — China, India, Taiwan, South Korea and Brazil carry most of the weight.

This fund holds roughly 830 companies and has been running for about 20 years, with USD as its base currency. That base currency is an accounting detail, not a risk you can avoid by buying a euro line — the underlying companies earn in their own currencies either way.

The fund holds a representative subset rather than every constituent — normal for indices with thousands of members, where buying the smallest names outright would cost more than the tracking error it saves.

Country and currency risk are both material here, and index inclusion rules can change: a market being reclassified moves real money. It is normally held alongside a developed-market fund rather than on its own.

The ongoing charge of 0.18% is €18.00 per year on a €10,000 holding. It is taken inside the fund, so it never appears on a statement — which is exactly why it goes unnoticed for years at a time.

The more honest figure is the tracking difference: 0.06% — what the fund has actually cost against its index, after securities lending income and withholding-tax treatment. It can be smaller than the headline charge, and occasionally negative.

Comfortably large enough that closure is not a live concern and on-exchange liquidity is good.

DEGIRO charges 0.1% whenever a trade settles in a non-euro currency. Buying the euro line (IEEM NA) on Euronext Amsterdam avoids it entirely. The fund’s own base currency is irrelevant here — only the currency of the line you trade counts.

The same fund is a different proposition in each country, and the differences are large enough to change which share class you should own.

Netherlands

Box 3 taxes an assumed return on your wealth, not what this fund actually pays or gains: 6.00% deemed return taxed at 36%, above a tax-free threshold of €59,357. Accumulating and distributing funds are treated identically, so the choice between them is about reinvestment friction, not tax.

Germany

As a distributing fund each payout is taxed on receipt at Abgeltungsteuer, with 30% Teilfreistellung on an equity fund and the Sparer-Pauschbetrag applied first. No Vorabpauschale arises while the distributions cover it.

Belgium

Belgian stock-exchange tax (TOB) applies per side at 0.12% here — the low band. Reynders capital-gains tax does not apply, as the fund is not bond-heavy.

Italy

Imposta di bollo takes 0.20% of the holding every year, with no threshold and no exemption. Capital gains are taxed at 26%, and each distribution is taxed at 26% as it is paid, so the charge lands every year rather than at sale.

Does ISHARES MSCI EM pay dividends?

Yes. ISHARES MSCI EM is a distributing fund, so dividends are paid out to you in cash — a trailing 12-month distribution yield of 1.51%. Reinvesting them yourself means paying your broker's commission each time.

How much does ISHARES MSCI EM cost to hold?

The ongoing charge is 0.18% per year, which is €18.00 a year on a €10,000 holding, deducted inside the fund rather than billed to you. Its measured tracking difference is 0.06%, which is what the fund has actually cost against its index — a more honest number than the headline charge.

Is ISHARES MSCI EM free to buy on DEGIRO?

It is in DEGIRO's Core Selection, so the first purchase of the month in each Core fund carries no transaction fee under their published terms. The €1 handling fee and any currency conversion still apply.

Which listing of ISHARES MSCI EM should I buy to avoid the currency fee?

Buy the euro line (IEEM NA) on Euronext Amsterdam. DEGIRO charges 0.1% when a trade settles in a non-euro currency, and the fund's own base currency (USD) is irrelevant to that — only the currency of the listing you trade matters.

Why is ISHARES MSCI EM domiciled in Ireland?

Ireland's tax treaty with the United States reduces withholding tax on US dividends to 15% for a qualifying fund, against 30% without it. Since US companies are the largest block in most global and developed indices, that treaty rate is worth more to a European investor than a domestic domicile would be — it is the single biggest reason nearly every UCITS ETF sold in Europe is Irish.