QQQ vs ACWI: which ETF won each year?

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

QQQ tracks the Nasdaq-100 IndexACWI tracks the MSCI ACWI 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.

QQQ turned it into
$59,045
+19.43% per year on average · 20162025
ACWI turned it into
$30,708
+11.87% per year on average · 20162025
Difference
+$28,337
QQQ made more of the same money

QQQ vs ACWI, 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
19
where both funds were trading
QQQ won
15
years
ACWI won
4
years
YearQQQACWIWinner
2026 (so far)+20.16%+11.66%QQQ
2025+20.77%+22.41%ACWI
2024+25.58%+17.45%QQQ
2023+54.86%+22.27%QQQ
2022-32.58%-18.39%ACWI
2021+27.42%+18.66%QQQ
2020+48.41%+16.34%QQQ
2019+38.96%+26.59%QQQ
2018-0.13%-9.12%QQQ
2017+32.66%+24.33%QQQ
2016+7.10%+8.40%ACWI
2015+9.44%-2.21%QQQ
2014+19.18%+3.83%QQQ
2013+36.63%+22.38%QQQ
2012+18.11%+16.75%QQQ
2011+3.48%-7.82%QQQ
2010+20.14%+12.78%QQQ
2009+54.68%+32.36%QQQ
2008-41.73%-35.29%ACWI
2007+19.03%
2006+7.14%
2005+1.57%
2004+10.54%
2003+49.67%
2002-37.37%
2001-33.34%
2000-36.11%
1999+78.95%

QQQ vs ACWI in plain words

QQQ tracks the Nasdaq-100 Index while ACWI follows the MSCI ACWI Index, so they own different slices of the market and their years can look very different. QQQ charges 0.18% a year in running costs and ACWI charges 0.32% — QQQ is the cheaper fund to hold.

Both funds distribute: dividends land in your account as cash instead of being reinvested automatically. Across the 19 calendar years both funds were trading, QQQ finished the year ahead 15 times and ACWI 4 times. $10,000 invested at the start of 2016 was worth $59,045 in QQQ versus $30,708 in ACWI by the end of 2025, dividends reinvested.

Fund facts: QQQ vs ACWI

FactQQQACWI
FundInvesco QQQ TrustiShares MSCI ACWI ETF
TracksNasdaq-100 IndexMSCI ACWI Index
Yearly cost (TER)0.18%0.32%
DividendsDistributing — dividends paid outDistributing — dividends paid out
Launched10 Mar 199926 Mar 2008

Frequently asked

Is QQQ or ACWI better?

Across the 19 calendar years both funds were trading, QQQ finished the year ahead 15 times and ACWI 4 times. $10,000 invested at the start of 2016 was worth $59,045 in QQQ versus $30,708 in ACWI 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 QQQ and ACWI?

QQQ tracks the Nasdaq-100 Index while ACWI follows the MSCI ACWI Index, so they own different slices of the market and their years can look very different. QQQ charges 0.18% a year in running costs and ACWI charges 0.32% — QQQ 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 QQQ have become?

$10,000 invested in QQQ at the start of 2016 grew to $59,045 by the end of 2025, with dividends reinvested — an average of 19.4% per year.

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