index
FTSE All-World
Global developed and emerging-market equities
Index Battle · Evidence-first comparison
FTSE All-World vs Dow Jones Industrial Average: Which Exposure Fits Your Portfolio?
Compare their structural exposure, diversification and intended portfolio role—without treating recent performance as a decision rule.
Last reviewed: 26 August 2026IndependentNo paid placementsInformational only
vs
index
Dow Jones Industrial Average
Thirty US blue-chip companies
Overall verdict
FTSE All-World provides global developed and emerging-market equities, while Dow Jones Industrial Average provides thirty us blue-chip companies. The decision is primarily about geographic or asset-class exposure, not which has recently performed better.
Quick Decision
Choose FTSE All-World if…
you deliberately want global developed and emerging-market equities and it matches the intended portfolio role.
Choose Dow Jones Industrial Average if…
you deliberately want thirty us blue-chip companies and accept its distinct concentration and risks.
Either can make sense if…
the exposure, implementation and risks fit a clearly defined portfolio objective.
At a glance
Entity characteristics—not reference-product fees.
| Characteristic | FTSE All-World | Dow Jones Industrial Average |
|---|---|---|
| Exposure | Global developed and emerging-market equities | Thirty US blue-chip companies |
| Geography | Global | United States |
| Market coverage | Large and mid cap | Large cap |
| Emerging markets | Included | Not included |
| Small caps | Not included | Not included |
| Weighting | Market-cap weighted | Price weighted |
| Index provider | FTSE Russell | S&P Dow Jones Indices |
Five key differences
- 1.Exposure: Global developed and emerging-market equities compared with Thirty US blue-chip companies.
- 2.Geography: Global compared with United States.
- 3.Market coverage: Large and mid cap compared with Large cap.
- 4.Emerging markets: Included compared with Not included.
- 5.Weighting: Market-cap weighted compared with Price weighted.
Decision scorecard
ExposureDepends
GeographyDepends
Market coverageDepends
Emerging marketsDepends
WeightingDepends
“Depends” means the category reflects an investor objective, not universal superiority.
Coverage, countries and sectors
Verified holdings, concentration, country and sector datasets are not currently connected. When available, each dataset will be labelled as official index data or Reference ETF holdings; listing domicile will not be presented as economic revenue exposure.
What this means in a portfolio
Holding both does not automatically create two independent portfolios. Overlapping companies and regions can make the combination an intentional tilt toward the exposure emphasised by Dow Jones Industrial Average.
Common mistake
Assuming that adding Dow Jones Industrial Average to FTSE All-World automatically improves diversification, without checking overlap and concentration.
Historical comparison basis
Historical performance is represented using Grovcap-selected reference exchange-traded products. It is not the official index or spot return series. Fund or ETP returns can differ because of fees, taxes, tracking, cash positions, product structure and other implementation effects. Differences can reflect TER, tracking difference, withholding taxes, sampling, securities lending, cash drag, operating expenses, currency conversion and inception date.
| Period | FTSE All-World | Dow Jones Industrial Average | Basis |
|---|---|---|---|
| Year to date | 11.18% | 9.32% | Cumulative |
| 1 year | 23.58% | 19.82% | Cumulative |
| 3 years | 19.66% | 16.35% | Annualised |
| 5 years | 10.96% | 10.07% | Annualised |
| Since inception | 13.16% | 12.27% | Annualised |
Provider-reported net-asset-value total returns for the two reference products, in USD, as of 30 Jun 2026. Figures are taken from provider documents; Grovcap does not convert them into another currency and does not recompute them. Periods where the two products report different currencies, bases or reporting dates are withheld rather than aligned artificially.
Grovcap does not currently hold a daily net-asset-value time series for these products. Indexed performance charts, annualised volatility, maximum drawdown and return-per-risk therefore remain unavailable rather than being estimated from period returns.
Reference instruments used
One canonical European exchange-traded product per exposure, chosen by published rules: exact benchmark family, active and published, plain long-only, then accumulating, unhedged, longest usable history and largest established product.
FTSE All-World reference product
Vanguard FTSE All-World UCITS ETF (USD) Accumulating
- ISIN
- IE00BK5BQT80
- Product type
- UCITS ETF
- Provider
- Vanguard
- Tracked benchmark
- Not currently available
- Distribution
- Accumulating
- Currency hedging
- Unhedged
- Replication
- Index
- Domicile
- Ireland
- Base currency
- USD
- Ongoing charge (TER)
- 0.19%
- Fund size
- Not currently available
- Inception
- 23 Jul 2019
Selected deterministically from 9 eligible products in the Grovcap database — never by commercial arrangement.
Dow Jones Industrial Average reference product
iShares Dow Jones Industrial Average UCITS ETF
- ISIN
- IE00B53L4350
- Product type
- UCITS ETF
- Provider
- Ishares
- Tracked benchmark
- Dow Jones Industrial Average Net TR (USD)
- Distribution
- Accumulating
- Currency hedging
- Unhedged
- Replication
- Replicated
- Domicile
- Ireland
- Base currency
- USD
- Ongoing charge (TER)
- 0.33%
- Fund size
- $1.91bn
- Inception
- 26 Jan 2010
Selected deterministically from 2 eligible products in the Grovcap database — never by commercial arrangement.
Continue researching
Related Grovcap guides, rankings and tools to take the next step.
Best ETFsBest FTSE All-World UCITS ETFsEvery core FTSE All-World UCITS share class compared on cost, size and structure.Best ETFsBest S&P 500 UCITS ETFsEvery S&P 500 UCITS share class compared on cost, size and structure.ETF comparisonVWCE vs WEBNFTSE and Solactive all-country implementations compared.ETF comparisonIWDA vs VWCEDeveloped-world versus all-world coverage, cost and portfolio fit.PortfolioIs One All-World ETF Enough?Separate genuine diversification from overlap and intentional tilts.
Disclaimer
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