ETF comparison · Global core
IWDA vs VUAA: overlap by weight, TER & holdings
iShares Core MSCI World UCITS ETF USD (Acc) vs Vanguard S&P 500 UCITS ETF (USD) Accumulating
The S&P 500 is the core of both portfolios; IWDA adds around one third of non-US developed markets on top. This is a concentration decision, not a cost decision.
IWDA also trades as SWDA (LSE (GBP) / Milan), EUNL (Xetra).
VUAA also trades as VUAG (LSE (GBP)).
IWDA vs VUAA at a glance
| IWDA | VUAA | |
|---|---|---|
| Fund | iShares Core MSCI World UCITS ETF USD (Acc) | Vanguard S&P 500 UCITS ETF (USD) Accumulating |
| ISIN | IE00B4L5Y983 | IE00BFMXXD54 |
| Index | MSCI World | S&P 500 |
| Market exposure | Developed markets | US large cap |
| TER | 0.20% | 0.07% |
| Holdings in fund | 1,186 | 503 |
| Fund size | ≈ 120 bn USD | ≈ 86 bn USD |
| Domicile | Ireland | Ireland |
| Replication | Physical (optimized sampling) | Physical (full) |
| Use of income | Accumulating | Accumulating |
| Launched | Sep 25, 2009 | May 14, 2019 |
Top shared holdings
| IWDA | VUAA | |
|---|---|---|
| NVDANVIDIA | 5.66% | 8.09% |
| AAPLAPPLE | 5.47% | 7.04% |
| MSFTMICROSOFT | 3.86% | 5.7% |
| AMZNAMAZON.COM INC | 2.72% | 3.85% |
| GOOGLALPHABET CLASS A | 2.28% | 3.01% |
| AVGOBROADCOM INC | 1.79% | 2.65% |
| GOOGALPHABET CLASS C | 1.78% | 2.4% |
| METAMETA PLATFORMS CLASS A | 1.62% | 1.9% |
| MUMICRON TECHNOLOGY | 1.27% | 1.64% |
| TSLATESLA INC | 1.16% | 1.57% |
| JPMJPMORGAN CHASE & CO | 1.04% | 1.44% |
| LLYELI LILLY | 1.03% | 1.38% |
| AMDADVANCED MICRO DEVICES | 1.01% | 1.16% |
| XOMEXXONMOBIL HOLDINGS CORP | 0.76% | 1.01% |
| JNJJOHNSON & JOHNSON | 0.71% | 0.97% |
Weights per fund, normalized. 438 companies appear in both funds.
What the fee gap costs
Growth of 10,000 invested at 7% annual return, after each fund’s TER: 0.20% for IWDA, 0.07% for VUAA.
| IWDA | VUAA | Difference | |
|---|---|---|---|
| After 10 years | 19,307 | 19,543 | 236 |
| After 20 years | 37,276 | 38,194 | 918 |
| After 30 years | 71,968 | 74,643 | 2,675 |
VUAA comes out ahead by about 2,675 per 10,000 invested over 30 years. TER only. Trading spreads, taxes and broker fees are not included.
Where the portfolios differ
| Region | IWDA | VUAA |
|---|---|---|
| United States | 72.8% | 99.8% |
| Japan | 5.8% | 0.0% |
| United Kingdom | 3.5% | 0.0% |
| Canada | 3.4% | 0.0% |
| France | 2.3% | 0.0% |
| Switzerland | 2.1% | 0.0% |
| Germany | 2.1% | 0.0% |
| Australia | 1.6% | 0.0% |
| Sector | IWDA | VUAA |
|---|---|---|
| Information Technology | 30.6% | 37.8% |
| Financials | 16.2% | 12.2% |
| Industrials | 10.9% | 8.3% |
| Materials | 3.2% | 1.8% |
| Communication Services | 8.3% | 9.5% |
Only rows where the two funds differ by at least 1 percentage point.
Domicile and withholding tax
Both funds are domiciled in Ireland, so fund-level dividend withholding works the same way for both. Domicile does not separate this pair.
Frequently asked questions
Do IWDA and VUAA overlap?+
Yes: 70.27% by weight, with 438 holdings appearing in both funds. 70.68% of IWDA’s weight is also inside VUAA.
Do IWDA and VUAA track the same index?+
No. IWDA tracks the MSCI World while VUAA tracks the S&P 500. The 70.27% overlap comes from companies that both indices include.
Which is cheaper, IWDA or VUAA?+
VUAA: 0.07% per year against 0.20% for IWDA. At 7% growth that gap is worth about 2,675 per 10,000 invested over 30 years.
Is it worth holding both IWDA and VUAA?+
Holding both mostly duplicates exposure: 70.27% of the pair overlaps by weight. Most investors pick one, or combine one of them with a fund covering different markets.
Why does VUAA hold the same companies at higher weights?+
Same companies, smaller universe: VUAA spreads its weight across 503 holdings while IWDA holds 1,186, so each shared position takes a larger slice of VUAA.
More comparisons
Methodology
Overlap is the sum of min(weight A, weight B) across holdings that appear in both funds, with each fund’s stored weights normalized to 100%. Holdings come from issuer feeds and regulatory filings in our ETF holdings database; TER and fund size come from fund profile data and are refreshed regularly. Figures update when the underlying holdings data updates.
Holdings data as of Sep 18, 2026, from our ETF holdings database.