One fund for stocks across many countries. The differences are in which countries are included, how the fund is built and what it costs.
Education, not advice. Nothing here recommends buying or selling any fund. Past returns are not used to rank anything. Funds can lose value, and some products carry the credit risk of their issuer.
Examples chosen by size and common use, not a recommendation. The list is not complete and other funds on the same index exist. Annual cost is the figure each issuer publishes (ongoing charge or total expense ratio). Fund size depends on whether the issuer reports the whole fund or one share class; the basis is shown where stated. Past performance is not shown and not used.
A global equity ETF tracks an index of listed companies from many countries. Two index families are common. MSCI World covers developed markets only, so it has no emerging markets. MSCI ACWI and FTSE All-World also include emerging markets. The US is a very large part of all of them, so a "world" fund is not evenly spread across countries.
Stock prices can fall a lot and stay down for years. Concentration in a few large companies and in one country can be higher than the word "global" suggests. Currency moves change the value in your own currency. Check the index factsheet for the real country and company weights.
How the tables are built. Every figure was read on 13 October 2026 from the issuer's own page or factsheet, and each fund links to its source. A figure we could not verify is shown as "not verified", never estimated.
First edition: products from iShares, Vanguard, SPDR, Xtrackers and Amundi. Not a recommendation of any of them.
No. MSCI World holds developed markets only. FTSE All-World also holds emerging markets.
No. It spreads risk across companies and countries, but it falls when global stock markets fall.
Not necessarily. Fee is one factor. Size, structure, tracking accuracy and tax domicile also matter.