MSCI World
Large and mid-cap stocks across 23 developed countries, the global default.
What it tracks
MSCI selects companies from 23 developed-market countries: the US, most of Western Europe, Japan, Australia, Canada, Hong Kong and Singapore. "World" here means the developed world only, China, India, Brazil and other emerging economies are classified separately in the MSCI Emerging Markets . The index captures large and mid-cap , representing roughly 85% of the free-float adjusted of each country. Weightings shift as share prices move and companies are reclassified between developed and emerging status.
Geographic exposure
Where in the world the index is invested, by domicile of listed company. For global indices this varies significantly between developed and emerging markets.
Despite covering 23 countries, the US accounts for roughly 70% of the index. This is not a fixed target, it reflects the actual of US companies in global markets. As US tech has grown, so has its weight. Investors who want to reduce US concentration often pair MSCI World with an Emerging Markets allocation.
Approximate end-2025 figures
Historical performance
Annual total returns from 2001 onward, including reinvested . Move the slider to see what a different starting amount would have become, and switch to the bar view to see how uneven the path actually was.
Total return, dividends reinvested, before fees and taxes. Past performance is not indicative of future results.
Returns by decade
Average annualised return for each full decade. This view makes it obvious that the path is anything but smooth, the 2000s were a lost decade for US equities, erasing all gains from the dot-com crash and the 2008 financial crisis.
* 2020s is partial (2020–2025). All figures are approximate total return .
Sector breakdown
How the index splits across the eleven standard GICS sectors. The bigger the bar, the larger the weight in the index.
Approximate end-2025 figures
Top 10 holdings
The largest names in the index by weight. Together they make up a meaningful share of the whole, pay attention to concentration.
| # | Company | Ticker | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Apple | AAPL | 5.0% |
| 2 | Microsoft | MSFT | 4.5% |
| 3 | Nvidia | NVDA | 4.4% |
| 4 | Amazon | AMZN | 2.7% |
| 5 | Alphabet (Google) | GOOGL | 2.6% |
| 6 | Meta Platforms | META | 1.8% |
| 7 | Tesla | TSLA | 1.4% |
| 8 | Broadcom | AVGO | 1.2% |
| 9 | JPMorgan Chase | JPM | 1.0% |
| 10 | Eli Lilly | LLY | 0.9% |
ETFs that track it
The funds most long-term investors use to own this index. Lower are almost always better. Domicile matters for , UCITS funds are domiciled in Ireland (IE) for European investors, US-domiciled (US) for American ones.
| Ticker | Fund name | Provider | Domicile | Type | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| IWDA | iShares Core MSCI World UCITS ETF USD Acc | BlackRock | IE | Acc | 0.20% |
| SWRD | SPDR MSCI World UCITS ETF | State Street | IE | Acc | 0.12% |
| URTH | iShares MSCI World ETF | BlackRock | US | Dist | 0.24% |
Accumulating, are automatically reinvested inside the fund. You don't receive cash but the share price grows. Simpler for long-term and more tax-efficient in many European countries.
Distributing, are paid out to you as cash. You decide what to do with them, but you're also responsible for declaring and paying on each distribution. Common preference for investors who want regular income.
A bit of history
MSCI (Morgan Stanley Capital International) launched the World Index in 1969 as a tool for institutional investors comparing performance across markets. It began with just a handful of countries and expanded as financial markets opened globally. The index survived the 1973 oil shock, Black Monday (1987), the dot-com (2000–2002), the global financial (2008–2009), when it fell over 57% peak-to-trough, and COVID-19. The US share of the index has risen from around 30% in the 1980s to over 70% today, driven by the dominance of US tech companies, a structural drift that has generated strong returns and a growing concentration debate.
- + Instant across ~1,500 stocks in 23 countries, one fund, one trade.
- + Low cost: SWRD charges just 0.12% per year; IWDA is 0.20%.
- + Reduces single-country concentration versus a pure US .
- + The de-facto standard choice for European buy-and-hold investors.
- − ~70% US, more international than the S&P 500, but still highly correlated with US markets.
- − No exposure to emerging markets, misses India, China, Brazil entirely.
- − The top 10 holdings are almost identical to the S&P 500 top 10.
- − during global crises is similar to the S&P 500, the 2008 was -57%.
- − Returns in non-USD currencies fluctuate with exchange rates.
All figures are approximate end-2025 values for educational illustration. Index composition, weights, holdings and returns change constantly. Nothing here is financial advice or a recommendation.