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Index Battle · Evidence-first comparison

MSCI World IMI 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

index

MSCI World IMI

Developed-market equities including small caps

vs

index

MSCI ACWI IMI

Broad global equities including small caps

Overall verdict

MSCI World IMI provides developed-market equities including small caps, while MSCI ACWI IMI provides broad global equities including small caps. The decision is primarily about geographic or asset-class exposure, not which has recently performed better.

Quick Decision

Choose MSCI World IMI if…

you deliberately want developed-market equities including small caps 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.

CharacteristicMSCI World IMIMSCI ACWI IMI
ExposureDeveloped-market equities including small capsBroad global equities including small caps
GeographyDeveloped markets worldwideGlobal
Market coverageLarge, mid and small capLarge, mid and small cap
Emerging marketsNot includedIncluded
Small capsIncludedIncluded
WeightingMarket-cap weightedMarket-cap weighted
Index providerMSCIMSCI

Key differences

  1. 1.Exposure: Developed-market equities including small caps compared with Broad global equities including small caps.
  2. 2.Geography: Developed markets worldwide compared with Global.
  3. 3.Emerging markets: Not included compared with Included.

Decision scorecard

ExposureDepends
GeographyDepends
Emerging marketsDepends

“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 World IMI 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.

No period is currently comparable across both reference products on a like-for-like currency, basis and reporting-date footing, so no return figures are shown. Grovcap never renders a missing return as 0.00%.

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 World IMI reference product

Xtrackers MSCI World IMI UCITS ETF 1C

ISIN
IE000X1GW0A7
Product type
UCITS ETF
Provider
Xtrackers
Tracked benchmark
MSCI World IMI Index
Distribution
Accumulating
Currency hedging
Unhedged
Replication
Physical
Domicile
IE
Base currency
USD
Ongoing charge (TER)
0.15%
Fund size
€12.26m
Inception
8 Apr 2026

Selected deterministically from 1 eligible product 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.

Why these reference instruments?

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Disclaimer

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