SCHE vs SPEM: Grades, Fees and Holdings Compared

Schwab Emerging Markets Equity ETF

SCHEANYSE Arca

State Street SPDR Portfolio Emerging Markets ETF

SPEMBNYSE Arca

Overlap

50.8%by weight

Expense ratio

SCHE −0.01pt a year

SCHE0.06%SPEM0.07%

Avg volume · 30D

SCHE 1.8×the volume

SCHE3.11MSPEM1.73M

10Y return · a year

SPEM +0.6pt

SCHE+6.9%SPEM+7.5%

SCHE vs SPEM Performance

Oct 29, 2021 – Oct 30, 2026

+28.1%SCHE+30.8%SPEM

Expense ratio: SCHE 0.06%, better; SPEM 0.07%
Fund size: SCHE $12.1B; SPEM $16.4B
1Y total return: SCHE +3.8%; SPEM +4.6%, better
Yield (12M): SCHE 2.79%, better; SPEM 2.68%
Holdings: SCHE 2224; SPEM 2699
Avg volume (30D): SCHE 3.11M sh, better; SPEM 1.73M sh
NAV per share: SCHE $34.30; SPEM $49.23
52W range

ETF.net Grade

Pillar letters and Scores for SCHE, SPEM, with each pillar’s weight
Pillar	SCHE	SPEM
Cost30% weight	A80Higher	B57
Mission25% weight	A100	A100
Risk15% weight	C50Higher	C48
Tradability15% weight	B61Higher	B58
Holdings10% weight	D37	A79Higher
Durability5% weight	B55	B69Higher

Rank among Emerging Markets Total Market funds

How we build Categories ›

Same Category. SCHE and SPEM are both graded against the same 5 Emerging Markets Total Market funds, so their Grades compare head to head.

Emerging Markets Total Market⁠

Category · 5 funds

See all 5 ›

SCHE ranks 2nd and SPEM 3rd of 5 funds in the Emerging Markets Total Market Category.

Rank 1AVWOVanguard FTSE Emerging Markets ETFScore 78
Rank 2ASCHESchwab Emerging Markets Equity ETFScore 71
Rank 3BSPEMState Street SPDR Portfolio Emerging Markets ETFScore 69
Rank 4CXCNYState Street SPDR S&P Emerging Markets ex-China ETFScore 52

Our read on each fund

ETF.net Research

SCHEASchwab Emerging Markets Equity ETF

SPEMBState Street SPDR Portfolio Emerging Markets ETF

In short

SCHE Emerging markets for six basis points. Schwab's tracker spreads roughly 2,200 stocks across FTSE's emerging universe at well under the typical fee in its group, and it has been running the same play since 2010.

SPEM Emerging markets, whole hog: roughly 3,000 large, mid and small caps from the S&P Emerging BMI at 0.07% a year. State Street's cheap-beta workhorse in the developing world, running since 2007.

Stated mandate

SCHE The fund seeks to track the total return of the FTSE Emerging Index, before fees and expenses.

SPEM The fund seeks investment results that generally correspond, before fees and expenses, to the total return of the S&P Emerging BMI Index. It provides broad exposure to emerging-market equities across large-, mid-, and small-cap companies.

Why people hold it

SCHE Costs 0.06% a year, under a third of the 0.19% peer median. That matches the cheapest fund in the cohort (VWO) and undercuts SPEM.
Hugs its benchmark: index replication here is among the tightest in the emerging-markets group, which is the whole job of a tracker.
Roughly 2,200 stocks drawn from FTSE's advanced and secondary emerging segments. Broad coverage of the asset class in one ticket.sec.gov
Trading since 2010 and now a multi-billion-dollar fund that changes hands actively, so it is not a thin, hard-to-exit corner of the market.

SPEM 0.07% a year against a 0.19% median for broad emerging-market funds. VWO and SCHE trim to 0.06%, and below that the fee stops being the deciding factor.
The S&P Emerging BMI is a total-market index: about 3,000 names across large, mid and small caps, not just the mega-cap headliners most EM funds stop at.
Plain index replication that has tracked its benchmark about as tightly as anything in this peer group.
A multi-billion-dollar fund that trades actively, part of State Street's low-cost SPDR Portfolio lineup.

Worth knowing

SCHE Emerging-market equity brings currency swings and country-level policy risk on top of normal stock volatility. Expect a bumpier ride than a developed-market core fund.
FTSE classifies countries its own way (advanced and secondary emerging segments), so the country lineup differs from MSCI-based emerging-markets funds.sec.gov
Distributions land annually or semiannually, not monthly, so income arrives in lumps.

SPEM Emerging-market stocks bring currency swings and deeper drawdowns; on risk this sits at the rough end of its peer group.
Distributions arrive annually or semiannually, not monthly.
Small caps cut both ways: the index reaches into smaller, less-covered companies that large-cap-only EM funds leave out.

Full SCHE profile⁠

Full SPEM profile⁠

SCHE vs SPEM Holdings

How SCHE and SPEM differ

Overlap by weight

50.8%

Shared holdings make up 60.5% of SCHE and 56.1% of SPEM.

Level by level

Holdings714 in both50.8%
Sector11 Sectors96.5%
Countryby domicile96.7%
Asset classEquity100%

Sector

Sector weights in SCHE and SPEM, widest gap first
Sector	More in SCHEMore in SPEM	SCHE	SPEM
Technology	SCHE +2.7 points	34.7%	32.0%
Industrials	SPEM +0.9 points	6.3%	7.2%
Health Care	SPEM +0.7 points	3.7%	4.4%
Materials	SPEM +0.7 points	7.1%	7.8%
Consumer Staples	SPEM +0.6 points	3.1%	3.7%
Communication	SCHE +0.6 points	6.9%	6.3%
Real Estate	SPEM +0.2 points	1.6%	1.8%
Consumer Discretionary	SPEM +0.2 points	9.0%	9.2%
Utilities	SPEM +0.1 points	2.6%	2.7%
Financials	SPEM +0.2 points	20.6%	20.8%
Energy	SCHE +0.1 points	4.3%	4.2%

Country, concentration and asset class

Country by domicile

Country weights in SCHE and SPEM, widest gap first
Country	More in SCHEMore in SPEM	SCHE	SPEM
Taiwan	SCHE +2.0 points	37.3%	35.3%
Poland	SPEM +1.6 points	0.0%	1.6%
Other countries (17)	SPEM +0.4 points	62.7%	63.1%

Outside the US: SCHE 1% developed, 99% emerging. SPEM 1% developed, 99% emerging.

Concentration

Weight in the 10 largest Holdings

SCHE30.1%
SPEM25.6%

Securities held

SCHE2,205
SPEM2,672

Asset class

SCHE: Equity
SPEM: Equity

Holdings

Only in SCHE1,491
In both714
Only in SPEM1,958

Only in SCHE

1,491 securities, 39.5% of SCHE by weight

Ssc Government Mm Gvmxx0.82%
Reliance Industries Ltd0.81%
Hdfc Bank0.81%
Icici Bank0.76%
Bharti Airtel Ltd0.63%
Al Rajhi Bank0.46%
Petroleo Brasileiro Pref SA0.43%
Anglogold Ashanti PLC0.43%
Infosys0.42%
United Micro Electronics Corp0.41%
Saudi Arabian Oil0.40%
Petroleo Brasileiro SA0.40%
Itau Unibanco Holding Pref SA0.39%
Grupo Mexico B0.35%
Gold Fields0.31%
Naspers Limited Class N0.31%
Otp Bank0.29%
Axis Bank0.29%
Firstrand Ltd0.29%
Kuwait Finance House0.29%
Gpo Finance Banorte0.28%
Mahindra and Mahindra Ltd0.28%
The Saudi National Bank0.28%
Bajaj Finance Ltd0.26%
Larsen and Toubro Ltd0.26%
Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd0.26%
Capitec Shs0.25%
Standard Bank Group0.24%
National Bank of Kuwait0.23%
First Abu Dhabi Bank0.22%
Fomento Economico Mexicano Ubd Uni0.21%
Saudi Arabian Mining0.21%
Saudi Telecom0.20%
Mtn Group0.20%
Qatar National Bank0.20%
Sun Pharmaceutical Industries0.19%
Emirates Telecommunications Group0.19%
State Bank of India0.19%
Malayan Banking0.18%
America Movil B0.18%
Delta Electronics (Thailand) Non-V0.18%
Valterra Platinum Ltd0.18%
Kweichow Moutai A0.18%
Aspeed Technology0.17%
Hindustan Unilever Ltd0.17%
Public Bank0.17%
Titan Company Ltd0.17%
Cemex Cpo0.16%
Tenaga Nasional0.15%
Maruti Suzuki India Ltd0.15%

Only in SPEM

1,958 securities, 43.8% of SPEM by weight

Icici Bank Ltd Spon Adr0.74%
Hdfc Bank Limited0.74%
Reliance Inds Spons Gdr 144A0.73%
Bharti Airtel Ltd0.59%
Al Rajhi Bank0.42%
United Microelectron Sp Adr0.41%
Infosys Ltd Sp Adr0.40%
Nu Holdings Ltd/Cayman Isl A0.37%
Grupo Mexico Sab De Cv Ser B0.37%
Itau Unibanco H Spon Prf Adr0.35%
Petroleo Brasil Sp Pref Adr0.35%
Petroleo Brasileiro Spon Adr0.33%
Naspers Ltd N Shs0.32%
Axis Bank Ltd0.31%
Vale SA Sp Adr0.29%
Gold Fields Ltd0.29%
Saudi Arabian Oil Co0.29%
Bajaj Finance Ltd0.28%
Pko Bank Polski SA0.28%
Otp Bank PLC0.28%
Delta Electronics Thai Forgn0.27%
Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd0.27%
Larsen & Toubro Gdr Reg’s0.27%
Grupo Financiero Banorte O0.25%
Credicorp Ltd0.25%
Sun Pharmaceutical Indus0.24%
The Saudi National Bank0.24%
Firstrand Ltd0.24%
National Bank of Kuwait0.24%
Mahindra & Mahindra Spon Gdr0.24%
Fomento Economico Mexica Ubd0.22%
State Bank of Indi Gdr Reg’s0.22%
America Movil Sab De C Ser B0.22%
First Abu Dhabi Bank Pjsc0.22%
Standard Bank Group Ltd0.21%
Orlen SA0.21%
Lenovo Group Ltd0.21%
Hcl Technologies Ltd0.20%
Qatar National Bank0.20%
Capitec Limited0.19%
Hindustan Unilever Ltd0.19%
Maruti Suzuki India Ltd0.19%
Titan Co Ltd0.18%
Public Bank Berhad0.18%
C Sun Manufacturing Ltd0.18%
Emirates Telecom Group Co0.18%
Bank Pekao SA0.18%
Cemex Sab Cpo0.17%
Saudi Telecom Co0.17%
Southern Copper Corp0.17%

Weight gaps

The 100 widest of 714 Holdings in both funds.

Holding weights in SCHE and SPEM, widest gap first
Holding	More in SCHEMore in SPEM	SCHE	SPEM
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing	SCHE +3.08 points	17.71%	14.63%
Tencent Holdings	SCHE +0.52 points	2.95%	2.43%
Vale	SCHE +0.37 points	0.39%	0.02%
Alibaba Group Holding	SCHE +0.33 points	2.28%	1.95%
Ctbc Financial Holding	SPEM +0.20 points	0.40%	0.60%
Sinopac Financial Holdings	SPEM +0.17 points	0.18%	0.35%
Industrial and Commercial Bank of	SCHE +0.16 points	0.78%	0.62%
Bank of Communications Ltd H	SPEM +0.14 points	0.08%	0.22%
Hua Nan Financial Holdings	SPEM +0.14 points	0.14%	0.28%
Mediatek	SCHE +0.13 points	1.79%	1.66%
Yuanta Financial Holding	SCHE +0.11 points	0.26%	0.15%
Pdd Holdings AdsPDD	SCHE +0.10 points	0.60%	0.50%
Meituan	SCHE +0.10 points	0.48%	0.38%
Fubon Financial Holding	SPEM +0.09 points	0.41%	0.50%
Parque Arauco SA	SPEM +0.09 points	0.03%	0.12%
Kgi Financial Holding	SPEM +0.09 points	0.18%	0.27%
Powertech Technology	SPEM +0.08 points	0.06%	0.14%
First Financial Holding Ltd	SCHE +0.08 points	0.15%	0.07%
Xiaomi	SCHE +0.08 points	0.55%	0.47%
E.sun Financial Holding	SCHE +0.08 points	0.24%	0.16%
Chang Hwa Commercial Bank Ltd	SPEM +0.07 points	0.07%	0.14%
China Construction Bank Corp H	SCHE +0.07 points	1.12%	1.05%
Delta Electronics	SCHE +0.07 points	0.86%	0.79%
Innovent Biologics	SCHE +0.07 points	0.17%	0.10%
Catcher Technology	SPEM +0.06 points	0.03%	0.09%
CezCEZ	SPEM +0.06 points	0.09%	0.15%
Asia Vital Components	SCHE +0.06 points	0.30%	0.24%
Multi Commodity Exchange of India	SPEM +0.06 points	0.04%	0.10%
Accton Technology	SCHE +0.06 points	0.26%	0.20%
Formosa Chemicals & Fibre Corp	SPEM +0.06 points	0.08%	0.14%
Air Arabia	SPEM +0.06 points	0.03%	0.09%
Elite Material	SCHE +0.06 points	0.44%	0.38%
Banco De Chile	SCHE +0.05 points	0.08%	0.03%
Cosco Shipping Holdings Ltd H	SPEM +0.05 points	0.05%	0.10%
Byd H	SCHE +0.06 points	0.32%	0.26%
Interglobe Aviation Ltd	SCHE +0.05 points	0.09%	0.04%
Weichai Power Ltd A	SPEM +0.06 points	0.01%	0.07%
Contemporary Amperex Technology Class	SCHE +0.05 points	0.09%	0.04%
Agricultural Bank of China H	SPEM +0.05 points	0.19%	0.24%
Taiwan Cooperative Financial Holdi	SCHE +0.05 points	0.09%	0.04%
Evergreen Marine Corp (Taiwan) Ltd	SPEM +0.05 points	0.08%	0.13%
Wuxi Apptec H	SCHE +0.05 points	0.11%	0.06%
Nanya Technology Corp	SPEM +0.04 points	0.19%	0.23%
Far Eastern New Century Corp	SPEM +0.04 points	0.03%	0.07%
Latam Airlines Group	SCHE +0.05 points	0.07%	0.02%
Banco Santander Chile	SCHE +0.05 points	0.05%	<0.01%
Chroma Ate	SCHE +0.05 points	0.22%	0.17%
Ase Technology Holding	SPEM +0.05 points	0.68%	0.73%
Trip.com Group	SCHE +0.04 points	0.22%	0.18%
Lite On Technology	SPEM +0.04 points	0.15%	0.19%
Pou Chen	SPEM +0.04 points	0.02%	0.06%
Realtek Semiconductor	SCHE +0.05 points	0.12%	0.07%
Zhen Ding Technology Holding Ltd	SCHE +0.05 points	0.13%	0.08%
Formosa Plastics Corp	SPEM +0.04 points	0.09%	0.13%
Winbond Electronics	SCHE +0.04 points	0.16%	0.12%
Cathay Financial Holding	SPEM +0.04 points	0.34%	0.38%
Hdfc Asset Management Company Ltd	SCHE +0.04 points	0.05%	<0.01%
Kuaishou Technology	SCHE +0.04 points	0.11%	0.07%
Novatek Microelectronics	SCHE +0.04 points	0.10%	0.06%
Falabella Saci	SPEM +0.04 points	0.08%	0.12%
Polycab India	SCHE +0.04 points	0.05%	<0.01%
Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd	SPEM +0.04 points	0.06%	0.10%
Nan Ya Printed Circuit Board Corp	SCHE +0.04 points	0.10%	0.06%
Metalurgica Gerdau Pref SA	SPEM +0.03 points	0.02%	0.05%
Hansoh Pharmaceutical Group	SCHE +0.04 points	0.05%	0.01%
Jiangsu Expressway Ltd H	SPEM +0.04 points	0.01%	0.05%
Zijin Mining Group Ltd H	SPEM +0.04 points	0.21%	0.25%
Wiwynn Corporation	SCHE +0.04 points	0.18%	0.14%
Telefonica Brasil SA	SPEM +0.04 points	0.04%	0.08%
Hangzhou Chang Chuan Technology Lt	SPEM +0.04 points	0.01%	0.05%
Eneva	SPEM +0.04 points	0.04%	0.08%
Nan Ya Plastics Corp	SPEM +0.04 points	0.46%	0.50%
China Merchants Port Holdings Ltd	SPEM +0.04 points	0.02%	0.06%
Misc	SCHE +0.04 points	0.04%	<0.01%
Aluminum Corporation of China Ltd	SPEM +0.04 points	0.03%	0.07%
Oil and Natural Gas Ltd	SPEM +0.04 points	0.09%	0.13%
China Merchants Bank H	SCHE +0.04 points	0.25%	0.21%
Asustek Computer Inc	SCHE +0.03 points	0.19%	0.16%
Banco Do Brasil SA	SPEM +0.04 points	0.05%	0.09%
Advantech	SCHE +0.03 points	0.09%	0.06%
Compal Electronics	SPEM +0.04 points	0.04%	0.08%
China Gold International Resources	SCHE +0.04 points	0.06%	0.02%
Sichuan Kelun-Biotech Biopharm Ltd	SCHE +0.03 points	0.04%	<0.01%
Jiangxi Copper Ltd H	SPEM +0.04 points	0.03%	0.07%
Gold Circuit Electronics	SCHE +0.04 points	0.12%	0.08%
Gulf Development Non-Voting Dr Pcl	SCHE +0.03 points	0.07%	0.04%
China Hongqiao Group Ltd	SCHE +0.03 points	0.08%	0.05%
Suzano SA	SCHE +0.03 points	0.06%	0.03%
Cosco Shipping Energy Transportati	SPEM +0.03 points	0.03%	0.06%
Powerchip Semiconductor Manufactur	SCHE +0.03 points	0.07%	0.04%
Fuyao Glass Industry Group Ltd H	SCHE +0.03 points	0.04%	<0.01%
Gail India Ltd	SPEM +0.03 points	0.05%	0.08%
Fsn E-Commerce Ventures	SCHE +0.03 points	0.05%	0.02%
Acer	SPEM +0.04 points	0.02%	0.06%
Airtac International Group	SCHE +0.03 points	0.05%	0.02%
Compeq Manufacturing Ltd	SCHE +0.03 points	0.07%	0.04%
Wuxi Biologics Cayman	SCHE +0.03 points	0.21%	0.18%
Embraer	SPEM +0.03 points	0.13%	0.16%
Kinsus Interconnect Technology Cor	SCHE +0.03 points	0.09%	0.06%
Yageo	SCHE +0.03 points	0.26%	0.23%

All 2,233 SCHE holdings⁠All 2,722 SPEM holdings⁠

How we measure overlap

Each holding counts at its smaller weight in the two funds, summed over the full Holdings. Sector, country and asset class use the same rule on each fund’s split. Cash, FX and derivative lines stay out of the counts. Two bond funds get no overlap figure.

SCHE vs SPEM Cost

Overpaying SPEM vs SCHE

$210

On $10,000 over 30 years. 7% growth a year before fees, expense ratio only.

SCHE 0.06%
$1,270
SPEM 0.07%
$1,480

Amount$10,000

Years30 years

Cost over time

SCHE 0.06%
SPEM 0.07%
Overpaying

Year by year

Year	SCHE	SPEM	Overpaying
10	$110	$128	$18
20	$432	$503	$71
30	$1,270	$1,480	$210

Expense ratio

0.06%SCHE, cheaper
0.07%SPEM

SCHE0.06%SPEM0.07%

0.06%0.29%

Middle half of Emerging Markets Total Market funds
Median 0.07%

SCHE cheapest of 5 funds

SPEM 3rd cheapest of 5 funds

SCHE vs SPEM Dividends

Last 12 months to Oct 30, 2026

Yield (12M): SCHE 2.79%, better; SPEM 2.68%
Payout (12M): SCHE $0.95; SPEM $1.30
Last payment: SCHE $0.04; SPEM $0.53
Ex-dividend: SCHE Jun 24, 2026; SPEM Jun 22, 2026
Paid on: SCHE Jun 29, 2026; SPEM Jun 26, 2026
Frequency: SCHE Twice a year; SPEM Twice a year

Distribution history

Per share, 2017 to 2026, same scale for both

SCHETwice a year · 19 paymentsAll SCHE payments⁠

SPEMTwice a year · 19 paymentsAll SPEM payments⁠

SCHE vs SPEM Risk

Fall from peak · 5 years

SCHE
SPEM

Risk facts

VolatilityStd dev, 3 years: SCHE 11.8%, betterSPEM 12.1%
Return per unit of riskSharpe ratio, 3 years: SCHE 1.05, betterSPEM 1.03
Worst fallMax drawdown, 5 years: SCHE −30.3%SPEM −29.2%, better
Market sensitivityBeta, 5 years: SCHE 0.87SPEM 0.86; Market = 1

SCHE and SPEM in the news

All news⁠

News
Vietnam enters FTSE emerging-market indexes, starting at 10% of its weight
Sep 21, 2026SCHE

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SCHE vs SPEM

In short

Stated mandate

Why people hold it

Worth knowing

How SCHE and SPEM differ

Level by level

Sector

Country, concentration and asset class

Country by domicile

Concentration

Asset class

Holdings

Only in SCHE

Only in SPEM

Weight gaps

Cost over time

Year by year

Distribution history

Fall from peak · 5 years

Risk facts

Vietnam enters FTSE emerging-market indexes, starting at 10% of its weight

How SCHE and SPEM differ

Level by level

Sector

Country, concentration and asset class

Country by domicile

Concentration

Asset class

Holdings

Only in SCHE

Only in SPEM

Weight gaps