Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
ACWI vs SDY: Differences, Returns & Fees
Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, ACWI returned +13.4% to SDY's +16.5%; 10% of their weight is in the same names.
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Net assets: $33.0bn on Oct 28, 2026 for iShares MSCI ACWI ETF, and $21.9bn on Oct 27, 2026 for State Street SPDR S&P Dividend ETF.
Pair scorecard
ACWI costs 0.03 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 3.1 points; ACWI is 1.5 times larger.
| Measure | ACWI | SDY |
|---|---|---|
| Return | ||
| Total return, 1 year | +13.4% | +16.5% |
| Benchmark | ||
| What it tracks | MSCI ACWI | S&P High Yield Dividend Aristocrats Index |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.32% | 0.35% |
| Net assets, as of Oct 26, 2026 | $32.6bn | $22.0bn |
| Holdings | ||
| Holdings in common | 10% | |
| Top ten holdings, share of the fund | 24.9% | 20.4% |
Holdings in common uses holdings dated Oct 27, 2026. Method
Risk and return
Apr 4, 2008 to Oct 23, 2026 · 968 weekly returnsSDY returned more: +470.3% to +333.1%. SDY swung slightly less: 17.9% to 18.5%. SDY fell less at its worst: −47.6% to −55.3%.
Full scorecard
9 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
| Measure | ACWI | SDY | Edge | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return | ||||
| Total return | +333.1% | +470.3% | SDY | Price change plus distributions, reinvested. |
| Annualized | +8.2% | +9.8% | SDY | Total return as a yearly rate. |
| Price return | +204.7% | +197.5% | ACWI (slight) | Price change alone, distributions left out. |
| Risk | ||||
| Volatility | 18.5% | 17.9% | SDY (slight) | Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier. |
| Downside deviation | 13.2% | 12.5% | SDY (slight) | Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate. |
| Max drawdown | −55.3% | −47.6% | SDY | Deepest fall from a high to the low after it. |
| Risk-adjusted | ||||
| Sharpe | 0.44 | 0.53 | SDY | Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility. |
| Sortino | 0.62 | 0.76 | SDY | Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation. |
| Calmar | 0.15 | 0.21 | SDY | Annualized return divided by the max drawdown. |
Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 968 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.
What they share
By the books each fund has filed, ACWI and SDY hold 10% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Oct 27, 2026.
half
10% in common
Only in one fund ↓
Side by side
ACWI and SDY on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
ACWI and SDY do different jobs. What does each one do in a portfolio?
- What each follows. ACWI follows MSCI ACWI and SDY follows S&P High Yield Dividend Aristocrats Index.
- Holdings in common. 10% of the weight is in the same securities (holdings dated Oct 27, 2026).
- One-year total return. Over 1 year to Oct 28, 2026 ACWI returned +13.4% and SDY +16.5% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 3.1 points.
Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
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ACWI
ACWI tracks the MSCI ACWI. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +13.4% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.32% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer for Oct 27, 2026, 61% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 2,197 positions, with the top ten at 24.9%.
SDY
SDY tracks the S&P Dividend. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +16.5% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.35% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer for Oct 27, 2026, 84% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 156 positions, with the top ten at 20.4%.
Questions people ask
- Which returned more over the last year, ACWI or SDY?
- In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, ACWI returned +13.4% and SDY +16.5%.
- Which is cheaper, ACWI or SDY?
- ACWI is cheaper, by 0.03 percentage points a year. That is about $3 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
Links are sources, not endorsements. A comparison is not a recommendation.
How this is computed
Overlap adds up the smaller of the two weights for each security both funds hold.
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ETFIQ, ACWI against SDY, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/acwi-vs-sdy
ETFIQ. (Oct 28, 2026). ACWI against SDY. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/any/acwi-vs-sdy
[ACWI against SDY (ETFIQ, Oct 28, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/any/acwi-vs-sdy)
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