index
Nasdaq-100
Large non-financial Nasdaq-listed companies
Index Battle · Evidence-first comparison
Nasdaq-100 vs MSCI ACWI: 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
Global developed and emerging-market equities
Overall verdict
Nasdaq-100 provides large non-financial nasdaq-listed companies, while MSCI ACWI provides global developed and emerging-market equities. The decision is primarily about geographic or asset-class exposure, not which has recently performed better.
Quick Decision
Choose Nasdaq-100 if…
you deliberately want large non-financial nasdaq-listed companies and it matches the intended portfolio role.
Choose MSCI ACWI if…
you deliberately want global developed and emerging-market equities 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 | Nasdaq-100 | MSCI ACWI |
|---|---|---|
| Exposure | Large non-financial Nasdaq-listed companies | Global developed and emerging-market equities |
| Geography | United States | Global |
| Market coverage | Large cap | Large and mid cap |
| Emerging markets | Not included | Included |
| Small caps | Not included | Not included |
| Weighting | Modified market-cap weighted | Market-cap weighted |
| Index provider | Nasdaq | MSCI |
Five key differences
- 1.Exposure: Large non-financial Nasdaq-listed companies compared with Global developed and emerging-market equities.
- 2.Geography: United States compared with Global.
- 3.Market coverage: Large cap compared with Large and mid cap.
- 4.Emerging markets: Not included compared with Included.
- 5.Weighting: Modified market-cap weighted compared with Market-cap 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 MSCI ACWI.
Common mistake
Assuming that adding MSCI ACWI to Nasdaq-100 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 | Nasdaq-100 | MSCI ACWI | Basis |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 year | 33.85% | 23.94% | Cumulative |
| 3 years | 26.30% | 19.77% | Annualised |
| 5 years | 16.19% | 11.02% | Annualised |
| Since inception | 19.36% | 10.09% | 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.
Year to date: not shown. Only one reference product currently reports this period.
10 years: not shown. Only one reference product currently reports this period.
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.
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.
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.
Continue researching
Related Grovcap guides, rankings and tools to take the next step.
Best ETFsBest Nasdaq-100 UCITS ETFsA distinct, concentrated US equity exposure compared on cost and structure.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.
Disclaimer
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