SWDA vs VHYL: which ETF won each year?

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

Every figure here is in pounds — what you'd actually pocket buying on the London Stock Exchange. Fund fact sheets usually headline returns in US dollars, which can look very different in years when the pound moves against the dollar. Here's the full story, year by year.

SWDA tracks the MSCI World IndexVHYL tracks the FTSE All-World High Dividend Yield 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.

SWDA turned it into
£34,992
+13.34% per year on average · 20162025
VHYL turned it into
£26,537
+10.25% per year on average · 20162025
Difference
+£8,455
SWDA made more of the same money

SWDA vs VHYL, 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
14
where both funds were trading
SWDA won
10
years
VHYL won
4
years
YearSWDAVHYLWinner
2026 (so far)+10.56%+12.85%VHYL
2025+12.64%+18.22%VHYL
2024+21.11%+11.23%SWDA
2023+17.59%+5.26%SWDA
2022-8.33%+5.95%VHYL
2021+23.64%+19.24%SWDA
2020+12.25%-3.74%SWDA
2019+23.03%+17.00%SWDA
2018-3.78%-6.59%SWDA
2017+11.78%+8.80%SWDA
2016+29.59%+32.59%VHYL
2015+4.06%-0.71%SWDA
2014+12.58%+8.22%SWDA
2013+25.32%-1.85%SWDA
2012+9.19%
2011-6.19%
2010+14.57%
2009-34.91%

SWDA vs VHYL in plain words

SWDA tracks the MSCI World Index while VHYL follows the FTSE All-World High Dividend Yield Index, so they own different slices of the market and their years can look very different. SWDA charges 0.20% a year in running costs and VHYL charges 0.29% — SWDA is the cheaper fund to hold.

SWDA reinvests its dividends automatically (accumulating), while VHYL pays them out as cash (distributing). Across the 14 calendar years both funds were trading, SWDA finished the year ahead 10 times and VHYL 4 times. £10,000 invested at the start of 2016 was worth £34,992 in SWDA versus £26,537 in VHYL by the end of 2025, dividends reinvested.

IWDA (London/Amsterdam, USD) and EUNL (Xetra, EUR) are listings of the same fund, ISIN IE00B4L5Y983 — SWDA is its GBP line on the London Stock Exchange.

VGWD is the Xetra (EUR) line of the same fund, ISIN IE00B8GKDB10 — VHYL is its GBP line on the London Stock Exchange.

Fund facts: SWDA vs VHYL

FactSWDAVHYL
FundiShares Core MSCI World UCITS ETF (Acc)Vanguard FTSE All-World High Dividend Yield UCITS ETF (Dist)
TracksMSCI World IndexFTSE All-World High Dividend Yield Index
Yearly cost (TER)0.20%0.29%
DividendsAccumulating — dividends reinvestedDistributing — dividends paid out
Launched25 Sept 200921 May 2013
ISINIE00B4L5Y983IE00B8GKDB10

Frequently asked

Is SWDA or VHYL better?

Across the 14 calendar years both funds were trading, SWDA finished the year ahead 10 times and VHYL 4 times. £10,000 invested at the start of 2016 was worth £34,992 in SWDA versus £26,537 in VHYL 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 SWDA and VHYL?

SWDA tracks the MSCI World Index while VHYL follows the FTSE All-World High Dividend Yield Index, so they own different slices of the market and their years can look very different. SWDA charges 0.20% a year in running costs and VHYL charges 0.29% — SWDA is the cheaper fund to hold. SWDA reinvests its dividends automatically (accumulating), while VHYL pays them out as cash (distributing).

What would £10,000 in SWDA have become?

£10,000 invested in SWDA at the start of 2016 grew to £34,992 by the end of 2025, with dividends reinvested — an average of 13.3% per year.

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