World & global equity ETFs: the full comparison
58 UCITS classes across four global index families, €626.2 bn in combined assets. For each: TER and KID costs, 12-month tracking difference and taxation — from official documents, re-read monthly. No rankings: first understand what each family covers, then compare funds within the right family.
The most important thing to know: “World” does not mean “the whole world”: MSCI World covers developed countries only — no China, India or Brazil. For emerging markets you need ACWI or FTSE All-World; for small caps, ACWI IMI. Four different coverages, four separate sections.
Coverage has a price — and tracking difference measures it
Replicating developed markets is cheap; adding emerging markets (local taxes, thinner liquidity) and small caps (wider spreads) costs more — a cost the TER doesn’t show, while tracking difference does. Positive = above the index. Past performance is not indicative of future results.
| Fund | Income | TER | KID costs | 12-month TD | Assets |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| iShares Core MSCI World UCITS ETF SWDA · IE00B4L5Y983 | Acc. | 0.20% | 0.00% | +0.02% | 131.3 bn |
| Xtrackers Msci World UCITS ETF 2c Eur Hedged IE000ONQ3X90 · hedged EUR | Acc. | 0.14% | 0.01% | — | 27.5 bn |
| Xtrackers Msci World UCITS ETF 1c IE00BJ0KDQ92 | Acc. | 0.12% | 0.01% | +0.08% | 27.5 bn |
| Xtrackers Msci World UCITS ETF 1d IE00BK1PV551 | Dist. | 0.12% | 0.01% | +0.07% | 27.5 bn |
| State Street® SPDR® MSCI World UCITS ETF (Dist) IE000P60WPS6 | Dist. | 0.12% | 0.00% | — | 20 bn |
| State Street® SPDR® MSCI World UCITS ETF (Acc) SWRD · IE00BFY0GT14 | Acc. | 0.12% | 0.00% | +0.16% | 20 bn |
| Amundi Core MSCI World UCITS ETF Acc MWRD · IE000BI8OT95 | Acc. | 0.12% | 0.01% | +0.06% | 15.7 bn |
| Xtrackers Msci World Swap UCITS ETF 1c LU0274208692 | Acc. | 0.45% | 0.00% | -0.13% | 13.2 bn |
| Fund | Income | TER | KID costs | 12-month TD | Assets |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| iShares MSCI All Country World UCITS ETF SSAC · IE00B6R52259 | Acc. | 0.20% | 0.01% | +0.08% | 31.5 bn |
| State Street® SPDR® MSCI All Country World UCITS ETF (Acc) ACWE · IE00B44Z5B48 | Acc. | 0.12% | 0.00% | +0.16% | 20 bn |
| UBS MSCI ACWI SF UCITS ETF USD acc IE00BYM11H29 | Acc. | 0.21% | 0.00% | -0.05% | 3.9 bn |
| Amundi MSCI All Country World Swap UCITS ETF EUR Acc ACWI · LU1829220216 | Acc. | 0.45% | 0.00% | -0.23% | 2.5 bn |
| Xtrackers Scalable Msci Ac World Xtrackers UCITS ETF 1c LU2903252349 | Acc. | 0.15% | 0.04% | +0.27% | 783 m |
| Amundi MSCI All Country World Swap UCITS ETF USD Acc ACWU · LU1829220133 | Acc. | 0.45% | 0.00% | -0.22% | 133 m |
| iShares MSCI All Country World Swap UCITS ETF ACSW · IE000CYC2B65 | Acc. | 0.12% | 0.00% | — | 91 m |
| Amundi PEA Global (MSCI ACWI) UCITS ETF Acc FR0014017NX3 | Acc. | 0.30% | 0.00% | — | 81 m |
| Fund | Income | TER | KID costs | 12-month TD | Assets |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| State Street® SPDR® MSCI All Country World Investable Market UCITS ETF (Dist) SPSA · IE000DD75KQ5 | Dist. | 0.17% | 0.01% | +0.65% | 8.5 bn |
| State Street® SPDR® MSCI All Country World Investable Market UCITS ETF (Acc) IMIE · IE00B3YLTY66 | Acc. | 0.17% | 0.01% | +0.65% | 8.5 bn |
| Fund | Income | TER | KID costs | 12-month TD | Assets |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vanguard FTSE All-World UCITS ETF (USD) Distributing VWRL · IE00B3RBWM25 | Dist. | 0.14% | 0.02% | +0.05% | 76.9 bn |
| Vanguard FTSE All-World UCITS ETF (USD) Accumulating VWCE · IE00BK5BQT80 | Acc. | 0.14% | 0.02% | +0.05% | 76.9 bn |
| Invesco FTSE All-World UCITS ETF Dist FTWD · IE0000QLH0G6 | Dist. | 0.15% | 0.02% | +0.13% | 4.7 bn |
| Invesco FTSE All-World UCITS ETF Acc FWRA · IE000716YHJ7 | Acc. | 0.15% | 0.01% | +0.03% | 4.7 bn |
| Invesco FTSE All-World UCITS ETF EUR PfHdg Acc FWEA · IE0006VDD4K1 · hedged EUR | Acc. | 0.20% | 0.04% | — | 4.2 bn |
| Invesco FTSE All-World UCITS ETF CHF PfHdg Acc FWCA · IE000SHR0UX9 · hedged CHF | Acc. | 0.20% | 0.04% | — | 3.9 bn |
| Invesco FTSE All-World UCITS ETF GBP PfHdg Dist FWSD · IE000UJC4MR1 · hedged GBP | Dist. | 0.20% | 0.05% | — | 3.5 bn |
| Xtrackers Ftse All World UCITS ETF 1c IE000L6ZMMC4 | Acc. | 0.07% | 0.03% | — | 114 m |
Want them side by side?
The ETF Screener filters every class by total cost, KID risk, exchange and currency hedging; the Compare tool puts up to four funds side by side — common-period chart, performance, risk and taxation.
Open the Screener on global equity →Frequently asked questions
Does MSCI World really cover the whole world?
No, and the name misleads: MSCI World includes developed countries only (the US, Europe, Japan and a few more), large and mid caps. No China, India, Brazil or other emerging markets. For those you need ACWI (“All Country”) or FTSE All-World; to add small caps too, ACWI IMI.
Are MSCI ACWI and FTSE All-World equivalent?
They cover the same ground — developed plus emerging, large and mid caps — but with different classifications: South Korea is “emerging” for MSCI and “developed” for FTSE, and Poland the opposite. The resulting return differences are usually small; the numbers to compare, fund by fund, are on the fund pages.
Why does tracking difference worsen as coverage widens?
Replicating a thousand developed-market stocks is cheap; adding emerging markets (local taxes, thinner liquidity) and small caps (wider spreads) costs more. That is the pattern in our per-family medians: extra coverage is not free, and tracking difference quantifies it better than the TER.
Accumulating or distributing?
Accumulating classes reinvest dividends; distributing classes pay them out. For Italian tax residents distributed dividends are taxed at 26% when received, while accumulation defers taxation to the sale: it changes when you pay, not what the index returns.
How are they taxed in Italy?
For Italian tax residents they are equity funds: capital gains and dividends at 26%, with no white-list share (they hold no government bonds). Taxed elsewhere? Your country of tax residence rules apply. Details on each fund’s taxation page.
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