VGT 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.

VGT tracks the MSCI US IMI Information Technology 25/50 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.

VGT turned it into
$76,464
+22.56% per year on average · 20162025
ACWI turned it into
$30,708
+11.87% per year on average · 20162025
Difference
+$45,756
VGT made more of the same money

VGT 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
VGT won
14
years
ACWI won
4
years
YearVGTACWIWinner
2026 (so far)+27.13%+11.66%VGT
2025+21.77%+22.41%ACWI
2024+29.30%+17.45%VGT
2023+52.66%+22.27%VGT
2022-29.70%-18.39%ACWI
2021+30.45%+18.66%VGT
2020+46.04%+16.34%VGT
2019+48.62%+26.59%VGT
2018+2.46%-9.12%VGT
2017+37.08%+24.33%VGT
2016+13.77%+8.40%VGT
2015+5.05%-2.21%VGT
2014+16.69%+3.83%VGT
2013+30.97%+22.38%VGT
2012+13.96%+16.75%ACWI
2011+0.54%-7.82%VGT
2010+12.78%+12.78%Tie
2009+61.89%+32.36%VGT
2008-42.82%-35.29%ACWI
2007+14.78%
2006+8.85%
2005+3.00%
2004-2.86%

VGT vs ACWI in plain words

VGT tracks the MSCI US IMI Information Technology 25/50 Index while ACWI follows the MSCI ACWI Index, so they own different slices of the market and their years can look very different. VGT charges 0.09% a year in running costs and ACWI charges 0.32% — VGT 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, VGT finished the year ahead 14 times and ACWI 4 times. $10,000 invested at the start of 2016 was worth $76,464 in VGT versus $30,708 in ACWI by the end of 2025, dividends reinvested.

Fund facts: VGT vs ACWI

FactVGTACWI
FundVanguard Information Technology ETFiShares MSCI ACWI ETF
TracksMSCI US IMI Information Technology 25/50 IndexMSCI ACWI Index
Yearly cost (TER)0.09%0.32%
DividendsDistributing — dividends paid outDistributing — dividends paid out
Launched26 Jan 200426 Mar 2008

Frequently asked

Is VGT or ACWI better?

Across the 19 calendar years both funds were trading, VGT finished the year ahead 14 times and ACWI 4 times. $10,000 invested at the start of 2016 was worth $76,464 in VGT 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 VGT and ACWI?

VGT tracks the MSCI US IMI Information Technology 25/50 Index while ACWI follows the MSCI ACWI Index, so they own different slices of the market and their years can look very different. VGT charges 0.09% a year in running costs and ACWI charges 0.32% — VGT 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 VGT have become?

$10,000 invested in VGT at the start of 2016 grew to $76,464 by the end of 2025, with dividends reinvested — an average of 22.6% per year.

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