ETF comparison

VWRL vs SWRD

Vanguard FTSE All-World UCITS ETF (USD) Distributing
IE00B3RBWM25Vanguard
State Street® SPDR® MSCI World UCITS ETF (Acc)
IE00BFY0GT14State Street
Figures as of September 30, 2026 (VWRL) · October 2, 2026 (SWRD)

The comparison in short

VWRL (Vanguard FTSE All-World UCITS ETF (USD) Distributing, IE00B3RBWM25) tracks the FTSE All-World index and SWRD (State Street® SPDR® MSCI World UCITS ETF (Acc), IE00BFY0GT14) the MSCI World index. SWRD has the lower total expense ratio (TER): 0.12% a year against 0.14% for VWRL, 0.02 percentage points less, or about 2 a year on 10,000 invested. VWRL is the larger fund, with USD 87.29bn in assets against USD 22.5bn for SWRD, about 3.9 times the size. VWRL reports 4,093 holdings and SWRD 1,241. 8 of the holdings published by VWRL (top 10) and SWRD (top 10) appear in both lists; measured on those published positions only, the overlap is at least 21.9%. Shared holdings include NVIDIA Corp, Apple Inc, Microsoft Corp, Alphabet Inc and Amazon.com Inc. In 2025, VWRL returned +22.6% and SWRD +21.2%, a gap of 1.4 percentage points. Over 5 years, VWRL returned +11.6% a year and SWRD +12.1% a year. SWRD reinvests its income (accumulating), while VWRL pays it out (distributing). Both are domiciled in Ireland. VWRL and SWRD both carry a risk indicator (SRRI) of 4 on the 1–7 scale. This is a factual comparison from the fund houses' documents, not investment advice.

Side by side

FigureVWRLSWRD
ISINIE00B3RBWM25IE00BFY0GT14
Exchange tickersVWRL, VWRD, VGWLSWRD, SWLD, SPPW
Fund houseVanguardState Street
Total expense ratio (TER)0.14%0.12%
Ongoing charges (KID)0.14%0.12%
Fund sizeUSD 87.29bnUSD 22.5bn
Launch dateMay 22, 2012February 28, 2019
Replication—Physical
DomicileIrelandIreland
Distribution policyDistributingAccumulating
Share class currencyUSDUSD
Number of holdings4,0931,241
Risk indicator (SRRI)4 / 74 / 7
BenchmarkFTSE All World Index USD Net of TaxMSCI World Index

Performance

Calendar-year returns

YearVWRLSWRDDifference
2025+22.6%+21.2%+1.4
2024+17.2%+18.9%−1.7
2023+22.0%+24.0%−2.0
2022−18.1%−17.9%−0.2
2021+18.3%+22.0%−3.7
2020+16.0%+15.8%+0.2

Annualised returns

PeriodVWRLSWRDDifference
1 year+16.7%+15.4%+1.3
3 years+21.7%+22.0%−0.3
5 years+11.6%+12.1%−0.5
Returns as published by each fund house, in each share class's currency and net of the fund's charges. The difference is in percentage points. Past performance does not predict future returns.

Holdings

8 of the holdings published by VWRL (top 10) and SWRD (top 10) appear in both lists; measured on those published positions only, the overlap is at least 21.9%. Shared holdings include NVIDIA Corp, Apple Inc, Microsoft Corp, Alphabet Inc and Amazon.com Inc.

Top 10 holdings of VWRL

#HoldingWeight
1
NVIDIA CorpIn both
4.77%
2
Apple IncIn both
4.24%
3
Microsoft CorpIn both
3.49%
4
Amazon.com IncIn both
2.33%
5
Alphabet IncIn both
1.87%
6
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd
1.70%
7
Broadcom IncIn both
1.59%
8
Alphabet IncIn both
1.44%
9
Meta Platforms IncIn both
1.17%
10
Micron Technology IncIn both
1.00%

Top 10 holdings of SWRD

#HoldingWeight
1
NVIDIA CorporationIn both
5.88%
2
Apple Inc.In both
5.38%
3
Microsoft CorporationIn both
4.01%
4
Amazon.com Inc.In both
2.66%
5
Alphabet Inc. Class AIn both
2.20%
6
Meta Platforms Inc Class AIn both
1.76%
7
Alphabet Inc. Class CIn both
1.73%
8
Broadcom Inc.In both
1.72%
9
Micron Technology Inc.In both
1.37%
10
Tesla Inc.
1.12%
Compare every published holding of VWRL and SWRD in the overlap checker

Sectors and countries

Largest sectors of SWRD

  1. Information Technology32.1%
  2. Financials15.6%
  3. Industrials10.8%
  4. Health Care9.1%
  5. Consumer Discretionary8.4%
  6. Communication Services8.2%
+ 5 more

Largest countries of VWRL

  1. United States61.7%
  2. Japan6.0%
  3. Taiwan3.3%
  4. United Kingdom3.3%
  5. Canada3.0%
  6. China2.7%
+ 4 more

Largest countries of SWRD

  1. United States73.3%
  2. Japan6.0%
  3. United Kingdom3.4%
  4. Canada3.3%
  5. France2.2%
  6. Switzerland2.1%
+ 4 more

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between VWRL and SWRD?

VWRL (Vanguard FTSE All-World UCITS ETF (USD) Distributing, IE00B3RBWM25) tracks the FTSE All-World index and SWRD (State Street® SPDR® MSCI World UCITS ETF (Acc), IE00BFY0GT14) the MSCI World index. SWRD has the lower total expense ratio (TER): 0.12% a year against 0.14% for VWRL, 0.02 percentage points less, or about 2 a year on 10,000 invested. SWRD reinvests its income (accumulating), while VWRL pays it out (distributing). Both are domiciled in Ireland. This is a factual comparison from the fund houses' documents, not investment advice.

Which is cheaper, VWRL or SWRD?

SWRD has the lower total expense ratio (TER): 0.12% a year against 0.14% for VWRL, 0.02 percentage points less, or about 2 a year on 10,000 invested. Their key information documents state ongoing charges of 0.14% for VWRL and 0.12% for SWRD.

Which is bigger, VWRL or SWRD?

VWRL is the larger fund, with USD 87.29bn in assets against USD 22.5bn for SWRD, about 3.9 times the size.

Do VWRL and SWRD hold the same companies?

8 of the holdings published by VWRL (top 10) and SWRD (top 10) appear in both lists; measured on those published positions only, the overlap is at least 21.9%. Shared holdings include NVIDIA Corp, Apple Inc, Microsoft Corp, Alphabet Inc and Amazon.com Inc.

How did VWRL and SWRD perform in 2025?

In 2025, VWRL returned +22.6% and SWRD +21.2%, a gap of 1.4 percentage points. Over 5 years, VWRL returned +11.6% a year and SWRD +12.1% a year. Over the past year, VWRL returned +16.7% and SWRD +15.4%. Past performance does not predict future returns.

Are VWRL and SWRD accumulating or distributing?

VWRL is distributing: it pays its income out to investors. SWRD is accumulating: it reinvests its income in the fund.

Go further

Other comparisons

Figures are read from the documents each fund house publishes (product page, factsheet, key information document, holdings file) and refreshed weekly. Names and tickers identify the products; FundFacts API is independent of every fund house and index provider. This comparison is factual information, not investment advice or a recommendation to buy or sell either fund.