index
MSCI World IMI
Developed-market equities including small caps
Index Battle · Evidence-first comparison
MSCI World IMI vs Nasdaq-100: Which Exposure Fits Your Portfolio?
Thousands of developed-market companies selected by market coverage, against one hundred selected by where they are listed.
Last reviewed: 26 August 2026IndependentNo paid placementsInformational only
vs
index
Nasdaq-100
Large non-financial Nasdaq-listed companies
Overall verdict
The Nasdaq-100 is not a technology index and does not claim to be. Its eligibility rules are structural: companies must be listed on the Nasdaq Stock Market, meet liquidity and seasoning requirements, and not be classified as financials. That rule set happens to admit many large technology and consumer companies, but the concentration comes from the selection universe, not from a sector mandate. MSCI World IMI takes the opposite approach and targets near-complete coverage of every developed market.
Quick Decision
Choose MSCI World IMI if…
the portfolio should reflect the developed equity market as a whole, with no listing venue or sector exclusion applied.
Choose Nasdaq-100 if…
you specifically want the large, non-financial Nasdaq-listed cohort and accept that the exclusion rule alone produces heavy sector and single-stock concentration.
Either can make sense if…
the Nasdaq-100 is sized as a satellite rather than treated as a diversified core exposure.
At a glance
Entity characteristics—not reference-product fees.
| Characteristic | MSCI World IMI | Nasdaq-100 |
|---|---|---|
| Exposure | Developed-market equities including small caps | Large non-financial Nasdaq-listed companies |
| Geography | Developed markets worldwide | United States |
| Market coverage | Large, mid and small cap | Large cap |
| Emerging markets | Not included | Not included |
| Small caps | Included | Not included |
| Weighting | Market-cap weighted | Modified market-cap weighted |
| Index provider | MSCI | Nasdaq |
Five key differences
- 1.Exposure: Developed-market equities including small caps compared with Large non-financial Nasdaq-listed companies.
- 2.Geography: Developed markets worldwide compared with United States.
- 3.Market coverage: Large, mid and small cap compared with Large cap.
- 4.Small caps: Included compared with Not included.
- 5.Weighting: Market-cap weighted compared with Modified market-cap weighted.
Decision scorecard
ExposureDepends
GeographyDepends
Market coverageDepends
Small capsDepends
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
Every Nasdaq-100 constituent is already inside MSCI World IMI. Adding it therefore doubles down on a specific slice of US large caps and removes financials from that incremental exposure entirely.
Common mistake
Describing the Nasdaq-100 as a technology fund and sizing it as though it were a sector satellite, when its exclusions and weight caps make its behaviour different from a pure technology index.
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.
Nasdaq-100 reference product
iShares NASDAQ 100 UCITS ETF
- ISIN
- IE00B53SZB19
- Product type
- UCITS ETF
- Provider
- Ishares
- Tracked benchmark
- NASDAQ 100 Index
- Distribution
- Accumulating
- Currency hedging
- Unhedged
- Replication
- Replicated
- Domicile
- Ireland
- Base currency
- USD
- Ongoing charge (TER)
- 0.30%
- Fund size
- $26.89bn
- Inception
- 26 Jan 2010
Selected deterministically from 15 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 World UCITS ETFsEvery plain MSCI World UCITS share class compared on cost, size and structure.Best ETFsBest Nasdaq-100 UCITS ETFsA distinct, concentrated US equity exposure compared on cost and structure.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.
Disclaimer
The information provided by Grovcap is for informational and educational purposes only and does not constitute investment, financial, legal, or tax advice. Investing involves risk, including the possible loss of capital. Always conduct your own research or consult a qualified professional before making investment decisions.
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