index
MSCI ACWI
Global developed and emerging-market equities
Index Battle · Evidence-first comparison
MSCI ACWI vs MSCI ACWI IMI: 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
MSCI ACWI IMI
Broad global equities including small caps
Overall verdict
MSCI ACWI provides global developed and emerging-market equities, while MSCI ACWI IMI provides broad global equities including small caps. The decision is primarily about market breadth and construction, not which has recently performed better.
Quick Decision
Choose MSCI ACWI if…
you deliberately want global developed and emerging-market equities and it matches the intended portfolio role.
Choose MSCI ACWI IMI if…
you deliberately want broad global equities including small caps 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 | MSCI ACWI | MSCI ACWI IMI |
|---|---|---|
| Exposure | Global developed and emerging-market equities | Broad global equities including small caps |
| Geography | Global | Global |
| Market coverage | Large and mid cap | Large, mid and small cap |
| Emerging markets | Included | Included |
| Small caps | Not included | Included |
| Weighting | Market-cap weighted | Market-cap weighted |
| Index provider | MSCI | MSCI |
Key differences
- 1.Exposure: Global developed and emerging-market equities compared with Broad global equities including small caps.
- 2.Market coverage: Large and mid cap compared with Large, mid and small cap.
- 3.Small caps: Not included compared with Included.
Decision scorecard
ExposureDepends
Market coverageDepends
Small capsDepends
“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 MSCI ACWI IMI.
Common mistake
Assuming that adding MSCI ACWI IMI to MSCI ACWI 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 | MSCI ACWI | MSCI ACWI IMI | Basis |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 year | 23.94% | 24.88% | Cumulative |
| 3 years | 19.77% | 19.35% | Annualised |
| 5 years | 11.02% | 10.75% | Annualised |
| 10 years | 12.72% | 12.43% | Annualised |
| Since inception | 10.09% | 10.19% | 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.
MSCI ACWI reference product
State Street® SPDR® MSCI All Country World UCITS ETF (Acc)
- ISIN
- IE00B44Z5B48
- Product type
- UCITS ETF
- Provider
- Spdr
- Tracked benchmark
- MSCI ACWI (All Country World Index) Index
- Distribution
- Accumulating
- Currency hedging
- Unhedged
- Replication
- Physical
- Domicile
- Ireland
- Base currency
- USD
- Ongoing charge (TER)
- 0.12%
- Fund size
- $18.74bn
- Inception
- 13 May 2011
Selected deterministically from 25 eligible products in the Grovcap database — never by commercial arrangement.
MSCI ACWI IMI reference product
State Street® SPDR® MSCI All Country World Investable Market UCITS ETF (Acc)
- ISIN
- IE00B3YLTY66
- Product type
- UCITS ETF
- Provider
- Spdr
- Tracked benchmark
- MSCI ACWI IMI (All Country World Investable Market Index) Index
- Distribution
- Accumulating
- Currency hedging
- Unhedged
- Replication
- Physical
- Domicile
- Ireland
- Base currency
- USD
- Ongoing charge (TER)
- 0.17%
- Fund size
- $7.56bn
- Inception
- 13 May 2011
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 MSCI ACWI UCITS ETFsDeveloped- and emerging-market MSCI ACWI trackers compared side by side.ETF comparisonVWCE vs SPYIGlobal large- and mid-cap exposure versus an investable-market index with small caps.PortfolioIs One All-World ETF Enough?Separate genuine diversification from overlap and intentional tilts.ToolsETF Comparison ToolPut any UCITS ETFs side by side on the fields that drive your decision.EducationETF MasterclassStructured lessons covering ETF mechanics, costs and investor behaviour.
Disclaimer
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