Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
ACWI vs VEU: Differences, Returns & Fees
Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, ACWI returned +13.4% to VEU's +14.4%; 31% 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 $68.1bn on Sep 30, 2026 for Vanguard FTSE All World Ex US ETF.
Pair scorecard
VEU costs 0.28 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 1.0 point; VEU is 2.1 times larger.
| Measure | ACWI | VEU |
|---|---|---|
| Return | ||
| Total return, 1 year | +13.4% | +14.4% |
| Drawdown | ||
| Below its high | 5.0%, high on Sep 4, 2026 | |
| Benchmark | ||
| What it tracks | MSCI ACWI | FTSE All-World ex US Index |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.32% | 0.04% |
| Net assets, as of Sep 30, 2026 | $32.8bn | $68.1bn |
| Holdings | ||
| Holdings in common | 31% | |
| Top ten holdings, share of the fund | 24.9% | 15.2% |
Holdings in common uses holdings dated Sep 30, 2026 and Oct 27, 2026. Method
Risk and return
Apr 4, 2008 to Oct 23, 2026 · 968 weekly returnsACWI returned more: +333.1% to +146.1%. ACWI swung slightly less: 18.5% to 19.4%. ACWI fell slightly less at its worst: −55.3% to −58.4%.
Full scorecard
9 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
| Measure | ACWI | VEU | Edge | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return | ||||
| Total return | +333.1% | +146.1% | ACWI | Price change plus distributions, reinvested. |
| Annualized | +8.2% | +5.0% | ACWI | Total return as a yearly rate. |
| Price return | +204.7% | +44.4% | ACWI | Price change alone, distributions left out. |
| Risk | ||||
| Volatility | 18.5% | 19.4% | ACWI (slight) | Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier. |
| Downside deviation | 13.2% | 14.0% | ACWI (slight) | Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate. |
| Max drawdown | −55.3% | −58.4% | ACWI (slight) | Deepest fall from a high to the low after it. |
| Risk-adjusted | ||||
| Sharpe | 0.44 | 0.27 | ACWI | Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility. |
| Sortino | 0.62 | 0.38 | ACWI | Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation. |
| Calmar | 0.15 | 0.08 | ACWI | 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 VEU hold 31% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Sep 30, 2026 and Oct 27, 2026.
half
31% in common
Only in one fund ↓
Side by side
ACWI and VEU on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
ACWI and VEU do different jobs. What does each one do in a portfolio?
- What each follows. ACWI follows MSCI ACWI and VEU follows FTSE All-World ex US Index.
- Holdings in common. 31% of the weight is in the same securities (holdings dated Oct 27, 2026 and Sep 30, 2026).
- Cost. ACWI charges 0.32% of assets a year and VEU 0.04%, a gap of 0.28 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%.
VEU
VEU tracks the FTSE All-World ex-US. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +14.4% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.04% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer as of Sep 30, 2026, 0% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 3,816 positions, with the top ten at 15.2%. It sat 5.0% below its high of Sep 4, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.
Questions people ask
- Which returned more over the last year, ACWI or VEU?
- In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, ACWI returned +13.4% and VEU +14.4%.
- Which is cheaper, ACWI or VEU?
- VEU is cheaper, by 0.28 percentage points a year. That is about $28 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 VEU, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/acwi-vs-veu
ETFIQ. (Oct 28, 2026). ACWI against VEU. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/any/acwi-vs-veu
[ACWI against VEU (ETFIQ, Oct 28, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/any/acwi-vs-veu)
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