CWI vs VXUS

CWIBState Street SPDR MSCI ACWI ex-US ETF

VXUSAVanguard Total International Stock ETF

In short

CWI Everything outside America in one ticker. Since 2007, CWI has tracked the MSCI ACWI ex USA Index, folding developed and emerging markets into roughly 1,100 stocks, at a price below the typical index tracker in its group.

VXUS Everything outside the US in one ticker: roughly 8,600 stocks across developed and emerging markets, large caps down to small, for 0.05% a year. Vanguard's answer to international investing is to just own the whole thing.

Stated mandate

CWI The fund seeks to track, before fees and expenses, the total return performance of the MSCI ACWI ex USA Index while providing access to developed and emerging-market countries outside the United States.

VXUS The fund uses a passive indexing strategy to track the FTSE Global All Cap ex US Index, which measures the performance of large-, mid-, and small-cap stocks in developed and emerging markets outside the United States.

Why people hold it

• CWI Europe, Japan and emerging markets arrive in a single trade. No bolting an EM fund onto a developed-markets one to cover the map.ssga.com
• 0.30% a year, against a 0.45% median for its index-tracking peer group.
• It hugs the MSCI ACWI ex USA Index closely, one of the tighter tracking records in its peer group.
• Live since 2007 with a multi-billion-dollar asset base behind it, run by State Street's SPDR desk.

• VXUS 0.05% a year, a small fraction of the median fee among its international peers.
• One ticker, roughly 8,600 companies: developed and emerging markets, large caps down to small caps, weighted by market size.vanguard.com
• Tracks the FTSE Global All Cap ex US Index tightly, one of the cleanest index builds among the international funds we grade.
• Trading since 2011, well over $100 billion in assets and one of the busiest names in its category, which usually shows up as tight bid-ask spreads.

Worth knowing

• CWI Cheap for its cohort, not at the floor. VT charges 0.06% for a whole-world portfolio, though that one keeps US stocks in the mix.
• Emerging markets ride in the same wrapper as Europe and Japan. That exposure comes as part of the package, with no dial to turn it down.ssga.com
• Distributions land once or twice a year, so income shows up in lumps rather than a monthly drip.

• VXUS No US stocks by design. This is the other half of a global portfolio, not the whole portfolio.vanguard.com
• Foreign currency moves feed straight into dollar returns, and Vanguard flags country and currency risk as especially high in emerging markets.vanguard.com
• Market-cap weighting means the largest developed markets and their megacaps steer the fund; the thousands of small names barely move it.vanguard.com

Full CWI profile⁠

Full VXUS profile⁠