ACWI vs URTH: which ETF won each year?

Yearly returns side by side, one winner per year — dividends included, priced as you'd actually buy them.

ACWI tracks the MSCI ACWI IndexURTH tracks the MSCI World Index

What did the last 10 years do to $10,000?

You invest $10,000 at the start of the window and touch nothing — dividends reinvested, the running year not counted.

ACWI turned it into
$30,708
+11.87% per year on average · 20162025
URTH turned it into
$32,044
+12.35% per year on average · 20162025
Difference
−$1,336
URTH made more of the same money

ACWI vs URTH, year by year

Calendar-year total returns (dividends included) side by side, and who took the crown each year. A dash means the fund did not exist yet.

Years compared
15
where both funds were trading
ACWI won
6
years
URTH won
9
years
YearACWIURTHWinner
2026 (so far)+11.66%+9.81%ACWI
2025+22.41%+21.36%ACWI
2024+17.45%+18.66%URTH
2023+22.27%+23.95%URTH
2022-18.39%-17.97%URTH
2021+18.66%+22.27%URTH
2020+16.34%+15.78%ACWI
2019+26.59%+28.15%URTH
2018-9.12%-8.56%URTH
2017+24.33%+22.95%ACWI
2016+8.40%+7.31%ACWI
2015-2.21%-0.64%URTH
2014+3.83%+4.37%URTH
2013+22.38%+26.66%URTH
2012+16.75%+14.71%ACWI
2011-7.82%
2010+12.78%
2009+32.36%
2008-35.29%

ACWI vs URTH in plain words

ACWI tracks the MSCI ACWI Index while URTH follows the MSCI World Index, so they own different slices of the market and their years can look very different. ACWI charges 0.32% a year in running costs and URTH charges 0.24% — URTH is the cheaper fund to hold.

Both funds distribute: dividends land in your account as cash instead of being reinvested automatically. Across the 15 calendar years both funds were trading, ACWI finished the year ahead 6 times and URTH 9 times. $10,000 invested at the start of 2016 was worth $30,708 in ACWI versus $32,044 in URTH by the end of 2025, dividends reinvested.

Fund facts: ACWI vs URTH

FactACWIURTH
FundiShares MSCI ACWI ETFiShares MSCI World ETF
TracksMSCI ACWI IndexMSCI World Index
Yearly cost (TER)0.32%0.24%
DividendsDistributing — dividends paid outDistributing — dividends paid out
Launched26 Mar 200810 Jan 2012

Frequently asked

Is ACWI or URTH better?

Across the 15 calendar years both funds were trading, ACWI finished the year ahead 6 times and URTH 9 times. $10,000 invested at the start of 2016 was worth $30,708 in ACWI versus $32,044 in URTH by the end of 2025, dividends reinvested. Past returns don't promise future ones — but this is what actually happened.

What is the difference between ACWI and URTH?

ACWI tracks the MSCI ACWI Index while URTH follows the MSCI World Index, so they own different slices of the market and their years can look very different. ACWI charges 0.32% a year in running costs and URTH charges 0.24% — URTH is the cheaper fund to hold. Both funds distribute: dividends land in your account as cash instead of being reinvested automatically.

What would $10,000 in ACWI have become?

$10,000 invested in ACWI at the start of 2016 grew to $30,708 by the end of 2025, with dividends reinvested — an average of 11.9% per year.

Related comparisons

More head-to-heads featuring ACWI or URTH.