Data as of Sep 12, 2026. Both funds on the fields they both publish, from the same sources.
ACWI vs SPY: how they differ
ACWI and SPY hold 60% of their weight in the same names, and ACWI returned more over the year.
iShares MSCI ACWI ETF and SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust.
What they hold in common
By the books each fund has filed, ACWI and SPY hold 60% of their money in the same securities at the same weight.
| Holding | ACWI | SPY |
|---|---|---|
| NVIDIA CORPORATION | 4.89% | 7.52% |
| APPLE INC. | 4.02% | 6.59% |
| MICROSOFT CORPORATION | 2.90% | 4.30% |
| AMAZON.COM, INC. | 2.58% | 3.62% |
| ALPHABET INC. | 2.26% | 3.25% |
| BROADCOM INC. | 1.90% | 2.77% |
| ALPHABET INC. | 1.87% | 2.59% |
| META PLATFORMS, INC. | 1.34% | 1.92% |
| TESLA, INC. | 1.09% | 1.84% |
| JPMORGAN CHASE & CO. | 0.86% | 1.36% |
| ELI LILLY AND COMPANY | 0.76% | 1.47% |
| BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY INC. | 0.66% | 1.42% |
| Only in ACWI | Only in SPY |
|---|---|
| Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Compa 1.73% | Sandisk Corp. 0.52% |
| ASML Holding N.V. 0.56% | Linde plc 0.37% |
| SK hynix Inc. 0.49% | Seagate Technology Holdings plc 0.34% |
| Tencent Holdings Limited 0.39% | Eaton Corp. plc 0.26% |
| HSBC HOLDINGS PLC 0.32% | Chubb Ltd. 0.19% |
| ASTRAZENECA PLC 0.29% | Trane Technologies plc 0.17% |
| Alibaba Group Holding Limited 0.29% | Medtronic plc 0.16% |
| Novartis AG 0.28% | Johnson Controls International plc 0.14% |
Weight overlap is an ETFIQ calculation: for every security both funds hold, the smaller of the two weights, summed. Above 50%, holding both is close to holding one of them twice. Holdings dated Apr 30, 2026 and Jun 30, 2026.
| ACWI iShares MSCI ACWI ETF | SPY SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust | |
|---|---|---|
| Where it sits | Core index fund | Core index fund |
| Issuer | iShares | State Street |
| What it is | MSCI ACWI | S&P 500, book from IVV |
| Total return, 1 year | +19.1% | +17.5% |
| S&P 500 over the same days | +17.5% | +17.5% |
| Gap to the S&P 500 | +1.6 pts | 0.0 pts |
| Expense ratio | 0.32% | 0.09% |
| Already in the S&P 500 | 61.4% | 100.0% |
| Holdings | 2307 | 504 |
ACWI in plain words
ACWI is an index equity fund tracking the MSCI ACWI. Over the year to Sep 11, 2026 it returned +19.1% with distributions reinvested, against +17.5% for the S&P 500 and +23.0% for the Nasdaq-100. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.32% a year. By its holdings filed for Apr 30, 2026, 61% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 2307 positions, with the top ten at 24.6%.
SPY in plain words
SPY is an index equity fund tracking the S&P 500. Over the year to Sep 11, 2026 it returned +17.5% with distributions reinvested, against +17.5% for the S&P 500 and +23.0% for the Nasdaq-100. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.09% a year. By its holdings filed for Jun 30, 2026, 100% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 504 positions, with the top ten at 36.4%.
Questions people ask
- Which returned more over the last year, ACWI or SPY?
- In the year to Sep 12, 2026, with distributions reinvested, ACWI returned +19.1% and SPY returned +17.5%, so ACWI returned more. One year is one year; the longer windows are in the table.
- Which is cheaper, ACWI or SPY?
- ACWI charges 0.32% a year and SPY charges 0.09%, so SPY is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
- How much do ACWI and SPY overlap with the S&P 500?
- By their latest filed holdings, 61% of ACWI and 100% of SPY by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds. Between the two funds, 60% of their books are the same securities at the same weight.
Other comparisons
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Where these figures came from
ETFIQ links to the documents behind every figure. It is not affiliated with any issuer, and a link is not an endorsement.
Cite this page. ETFIQ, ACWI against SPY, data as of Sep 12, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/ACWI-SPY Free to use with attribution; the underlying files are at Open data.
A comparison is not a recommendation. Standards and sources