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The purpose of this paper is to elucidate the performance discrepancies between shariah-compliant and non-shariah-compliant exchange-traded funds (ETFs), aiming to enrich the academic and practical understanding of Islamic finance‘s nuances in the ETF sector.

Initiating with a broad literature review to cement a theoretical backdrop on Islamic investment principles and the mechanics of shariah-compliant ETFs, the research progresses to devise a comparative analytical framework. This framework focuses on assessing ETF performance through metrics like net asset value returns and volatility, specifically analyzing Blackrock ETFs to draw distinctions in portfolio outcomes and asset compositions.

The examination highlights discernible variances in portfolio performance between shariah-compliant and their conventional counterparts, presenting instances where shariah-compliant ETFs, such as ISUS from Blackrock, deliver competitive returns despite their generally lower net assets compared to conventional ETFs like VUSA from Vanguard. Moreover, the ISUS ETF‘s holdings investigation revealed discrepancies with AAOIFI standards, questioning its strict Shariah compliance and adding depth to the analysis of Islamic financial instruments‘ integrity.

This paper significantly advances the scholarly dialogue on Islamic financial practices within the ETF landscape, providing empirical evidence of performance differentials and compliance intricacies. While prior research has touched upon Islamic investing, this study pioneers a detailed comparative scrutiny, equipped with a novel methodological approach, to dissect the shariah-compliant ETFs‘ operational and ethical frameworks, offering invaluable insights for investors, financial analysts and Islamic finance scholars.

International Journal of Emerging Markets (IJoEM) is a leading journal that publishes high-quality research focused on emerging markets. In 2020, IJoEM celebrated its fifteenth anniversary, and the objective of this paper is to conduct a retrospective analysis to commensurate IJoEM's milestone.

Data used in this study were extracted using the Scopus database. Bibliometric analysis, using several indicators, is adopted to reveal the major trends and themes of a journal. Mapping of bibliographic data is carried using VOSviewer.

Study findings indicate that IJoEM has been growing for publications and citations since its inception. Four significant research directions emerged, i.e. consumer behaviour, financial markets, financial institutions and corporate governance and strategic dimensions based on cluster analysis of IJoEM's publications. The identified future research directions are focused on emergent investments opportunities, trends in behavioural finance, emerging role technology-financial companies, changing trends in corporate governance and the rising importance of strategic management in emerging markets.

To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first study to conduct a comprehensive bibliometric analysis of IJoEM. The study presents the key themes and trends emerging from a leading journal considered a high-quality research journal for research on emerging markets by academicians, scholars and practitioners.