ESGE

iShares ESG Aware MSCI EM ETF

iShares · $6.93bn in assets, October 8, 2026

Owns emerging market companies with stronger environmental, social and governance ratings, weighted to behave much like the broader MSCI Emerging Markets Index.

ESGE, the iShares ESG Aware MSCI EM ETF, is a $6.9 billion ETF whose main story is the values trade. Over the past year it returned +28.0%, against +16.8% for broad US ETFs. Figures to October 2, 2026; past performance, not a recommendation.

ESGE · the ETFFRI OCT 2Market price total return
+9.4% a yearTotal return since launch, July 2016
+28.0%Last 12 months
+25.3%Year to date
20.3%Volatility since launch

The narrative it carries

Its main narrative, at 0.7 of its exposure.

The values trade →

ESG, climate and faith-based ETFs, and the anti-ESG ETFs built against them.

The values trade · the narrative this week
42.6WARM level, 17 of 22
last four weeks
127ETFs carry it
38.1%held by the top five
ESGUlargest holder, 13.2%
$142 bncapital, 7th of 22

The band is where this narrative’s level sits among the 22 this week. QUIET means less talked about, not falling.

Who owns the capital
ESGU 13.2%ESGV 9.7%ESGD 6.1%VSGX 5.1%DSI 4.0%122 other ETFs 61.9%38.1%top five
#ETFSHAREASSETS1 YEARCOST
1ESGU13.2%$17.90bn+16.2%0.15%
2ESGV9.7%$13.14bn+15.9%0.09%
3ESGD6.1%$11.87bn+13.7%0.20%
4VSGX5.1%$6.95bn+20.0%–
5DSI4.0%$5.47bn+18.0%0.25%
122 other ETFs61.9%
ESGE: 3.6%

Share is each ETF’s slice of the capital carrying this narrative. 1 year is market price total return; cost is the expense ratio. See all 127 ETFs on the narrative page →

Also carries: Dollar displacement →

Stocks and bonds outside the United States, and the dollar that sets what they are worth to a US holder.

Exposure 0.3 · level 41.5 WARM, 19th of 22 · ESGE holds 0.1% of its capital

FRI OCT 2MARKET PRICE TOTAL RETURN

1M3MYTD1Y3Y*5Y*
ESGE+1.4%+4.7%+25.3%+28.0%+25.4%+8.7%
The values tradeits narrative−0.1%+2.1%+12.6%+14.9%+20.4%+10.4%
The marketbroad US ETFs+0.8%+2.6%+14.6%+16.8%+22.9%+12.9%

1M, 3M, 1Y, 3Y, 5Y: one month to five years. YTD: year to date. * A year, annualised. A dash means the ETF has not traded for the whole period. Since it started trading on July 20, 2016: +9.4% a year.

$10,000 invested October 31, 2016

ESGE $24,110The values trade $33,206The market $42,209
$0$10,000$20,000$30,000$40,000$50,000Oct 2016Oct 2018Oct 2020Oct 2022Oct 2024$0$10,000$20,000$30,000$40,000$50,000Oct 2016Oct 2020Oct 2024

Year by year

ESGEThe values tradeThe market
-40%-20%0%20%40%ESGE 2019: +20.3%Narrative 2019: +27.6%The market 2019: +31.3%2019ESGE 2020: +18.6%Narrative 2020: +20.0%The market 2020: +21.4%2020ESGE 2021: -2.8%Narrative 2021: +19.6%The market 2021: +27.1%2021ESGE 2022: -22.4%Narrative 2022: -19.2%The market 2022: -19.8%2022ESGE 2023: +9.5%Narrative 2023: +22.3%The market 2023: +27.9%2023ESGE 2024: +6.6%Narrative 2024: +16.7%The market 2024: +23.1%2024ESGE 2025: +35.9%Narrative 2025: +18.7%The market 2025: +16.8%2025ESGE YTD: +25.3%Narrative YTD: +12.6%The market YTD: +14.6%YTD-40%-20%0%20%40%ESGE 2019: +20.3%Narrative 2019: +27.6%The market 2019: +31.3%2019ESGE 2020: +18.6%Narrative 2020: +20.0%The market 2020: +21.4%2020ESGE 2021: -2.8%Narrative 2021: +19.6%The market 2021: +27.1%2021ESGE 2022: -22.4%Narrative 2022: -19.2%The market 2022: -19.8%2022ESGE 2023: +9.5%Narrative 2023: +22.3%The market 2023: +27.9%2023ESGE 2024: +6.6%Narrative 2024: +16.7%The market 2024: +23.1%2024ESGE 2025: +35.9%Narrative 2025: +18.7%The market 2025: +16.8%2025ESGE YTD: +25.3%Narrative YTD: +12.6%The market YTD: +14.6%YTD

Total return in each calendar year; this year is year to date. A year appears only if ESGE traded for all of it.

Total return on the market price, with each distribution reinvested on its ex-date. Not the NAV return the issuer publishes; the two differ when the ETF trades above or below the value of its holdings. The narrative is the asset-weighted return of the unlevered ETFs that carry it. The market is the asset-weighted return of broad US index ETFs. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

Common questions

What story is ESGE selling?

ESGE’s main story is the values trade, which covers ESG, climate and faith-based ETFs, and the anti-ESG ETFs built against them. Its second is dollar displacement.

Which ETFs compete with ESGE?

The ETFs whose weekly returns move most like ESGE’s over the past 3 years are EEM (1.00), IEMG (0.99) and EEMX (0.99).

How has ESGE performed against its story?

Over the past year ESGE returned +28.0%, the ETFs carrying the values trade +14.9% and broad US ETFs +16.8%, to October 2, 2026. Its weekly returns have a correlation of 0.75 with the story. Past performance only.

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Narrative figures are from the weekly board. Performance is market price total return as of October 2, 2026. Assets are StoryVector’s weekly figure. Classification and measurement. Not investment advice. How the measurement works →