ACWI vs VT

ACWIBiShares MSCI ACWI ETF

VTAVanguard Total World Stock ETF

In short

ACWI ACWI borrows its name from the benchmark pros use as shorthand for "global stocks": large and mid caps across developed and emerging markets, roughly 2,200 of them, bought in one trade.

VT One ticker, the whole investable stock market: roughly 9,800 stocks across developed and emerging markets, weighted by what the market says they're worth. There is no US-versus-international call left for you to make.

Stated mandate

ACWI The fund seeks to track an index of large- and mid-cap equities across developed and emerging markets worldwide.

VT The fund seeks to passively track the FTSE Global All Cap Index, which represents large-, mid-, and small-capitalization stocks of companies in developed and emerging markets worldwide.

Why people hold it

• ACWI One ticker, both halves of the world map: developed and emerging markets, large and mid caps, roughly 2,200 stocks in a single line item.
• Charges 0.32% a year, below the 0.45% median for its index-tracking peer group.
• Trading since 2008 and now a multi-billion-dollar fund that changes hands actively, which shows up in tight, dependable execution.
• Sticks close to the MSCI All Country World Index it quotes, one of the stronger index implementations in its peer group.

• VT 0.06% a year, against a 0.45% median for the index wrappers it competes with. Worldwide coverage for a rounding error.
• Its benchmark comes from the FTSE Global Equity Index Series, which covers 98% of the world's investable market cap: large, mid and small caps, developed and emerging alike.vanguard.com
• Passively run with index sampling and kept fully invested. Tracking of the index has been about as tight as this cohort gets, and it trades actively enough to keep spreads thin.vanguard.com
• Live since 2008 and now a multi-billion-dollar fund, it ranks among the strongest implementations in its peer group. Pays quarterly.

Worth knowing

• ACWI Fee is the trade-off: VT runs the same one-ticker global idea at 0.06%.
• The mandate stops at large and mid caps, so the world's smaller companies sit outside the portfolio.
• Emerging-market holdings and foreign currencies come with the package, so returns move with more than just US stocks.

• VT Market-cap weighting hands the steering wheel to the market. The biggest countries and companies dominate, and those weights drift with prices, never tilting back.vanguard.comvanguard.com
• All equity, all the time: emerging markets and unhedged foreign currency come with the package, and there is no bond sleeve to cushion a selloff.
• Single-market index funds shave the fee further (SCHK at 0.03%, SPYV at 0.04%). Global reach costs a couple of basis points more.

Full ACWI profile⁠

Full VT profile⁠