EQLT ETF — iShares MSCI Emerging Markets Quality Factor ETF

iShares MSCI Emerging Markets Quality Factor ETF (EQLT)

Updated October 16, 2026.

EQLT is an ETF. its distribution rate is 1.55%, its trailing-12-month yield is 2.49%, its expense ratio is 0.35%. Dividend Vision Distribution Safety Score™ is 50/100 (Unproven). Total return is 2.4% over the past 2.1 years, 39.8 points behind SPY at 42.2%.

This ETF tracks an index of higher-quality companies in emerging markets, selecting securities with stronger financial characteristics relative to their peers within each sector while maintaining broad exposure across roughly half of each country's market capitalization. The fund carries a modest distribution rate with semi-annual payouts and has a low expense ratio of 0.35%. It appeals to investors seeking emerging market equity exposure with an emphasis on quality factors rather than broad market indexing.

EQLT performance versus SPY

Price and return data through 2026-10-16.

Total return is 2.4% over the past 2.1 years, 39.8 points behind SPY at 42.2%. Over the past year its total return — price change plus distributions reinvested — is 23.6%. Its deepest 1-year drawdown was 12.0%.

EQLT key facts

Distribution Safety Score™

50 · Unproven

Issuer

iShares

Asset type

ETF

Asset class

Equity

Inception date

09/04/2024

Expense ratio

0.35%

Distribution rate

1.55%

Distribution frequency

Semi-Annual

Trailing yield

2.49%

Last close

$36.23 (as of 2026-10-16)

AUM

$12,015,822

Average volume

654.0

Dividend

$0.28

Ex-dividend date

06/15/2026

Payment date

06/18/2026

Beta

1.3838

How Dividend Vision calculates yield and returns

Distribution rate (1.55%) uses calculation basis unavailable. Issuer rates can use a different denominator and date, including ex-date NAV. Trailing-12-month yield (2.49%) is the sum of split-adjusted cash distributions with ex-dates in the last 12 months, divided by the published price. It lags a recent raise or cut. Total return uses split-adjusted close with distributions reinvested on the ex-dividend date (a modeling convention, not the cash-settlement date) from the first stored bar on or after inception through the latest bar, compared with the same window on the benchmark. That is the security's total return, not your personal gain/loss.

Yield and safety methodology · Distribution rate methodology · Distribution Safety Score methodology

Sources and review

Primary sources: iShares; prices and distributions from Dividend Vision, derived from vendor EOD data.

Reviewed by Bert Sweet, CEO and Co-owner of Dividend Vision. Methodology: Distribution Safety Score.

EQLT risks and drawbacks

EQLT's current distribution rate is moderate, not a high-yield payout — the strategy is dividend quality more than maximum income. Payments are semi-annual, so cash flow is lumpy versus a monthly fund. Total return has trailed SPY over the available window. The deepest 1-year drawdown on record here is 12.0%.

Who may consider EQLT — and who may not

It is a weaker fit for investors who need monthly cash flow (EQLT pays semi-annual); investors hunting double-digit covered-call yields; investors whose main goal is matching SPY total return. This is educational context, not a recommendation to buy or sell.

More on EQLT

• All tickers starting with E

Tagged: Emerging Markets, International.

Frequently asked questions

More securities from iShares.