ETF comparison · Global core
IWDA vs VWRL: overlap by weight, TER & holdings
iShares Core MSCI World UCITS ETF USD (Acc) vs Vanguard FTSE All-World UCITS ETF (USD) Distributing
Two decisions in one comparison: developed-only versus all-world, and accumulating versus distributing. The holdings gap is the emerging-markets sleeve; the payout gap is a tax question.
IWDA also trades as SWDA (LSE (GBP) / Milan), EUNL (Xetra).
VWRL also trades as VWRD (LSE (USD)).
IWDA vs VWRL at a glance
| IWDA | VWRL | |
|---|---|---|
| Fund | iShares Core MSCI World UCITS ETF USD (Acc) | Vanguard FTSE All-World UCITS ETF (USD) Distributing |
| ISIN | IE00B4L5Y983 | IE00B3RBWM25 |
| Index | MSCI World | FTSE All-World |
| Market exposure | Developed markets | Global (developed + emerging) |
| TER | 0.20% | 0.14% |
| Holdings in fund | 1,186 | 3,598 |
| Fund size | ≈ 120 bn USD | ≈ 79.6 bn USD |
| Domicile | Ireland | Ireland |
| Replication | Physical (optimized sampling) | Physical (sampling) |
| Use of income | Accumulating | Distributing |
| Launched | Sep 25, 2009 | May 22, 2012 |
Top shared holdings
| IWDA | VWRL | |
|---|---|---|
| NVDANVIDIA | 5.66% | 4.84% |
| AAPLAPPLE | 5.47% | 4.3% |
| MSFTMICROSOFT | 3.86% | 3.54% |
| AMZNAMAZON.COM INC | 2.72% | 2.37% |
| GOOGLALPHABET CLASS A | 2.28% | 1.9% |
| AVGOBROADCOM INC | 1.79% | 1.62% |
| GOOGALPHABET CLASS C | 1.78% | 1.46% |
| METAMETA PLATFORMS CLASS A | 1.62% | 1.18% |
| MUMICRON TECHNOLOGY | 1.27% | 1.02% |
| TSLATESLA INC | 1.16% | 1.01% |
| JPMJPMORGAN CHASE & CO | 1.04% | 0.89% |
| LLYELI LILLY | 1.03% | 0.87% |
| AMDADVANCED MICRO DEVICES | 1.01% | 0.72% |
| XOMEXXONMOBIL HOLDINGS CORP | 0.76% | 0.63% |
| ASMLASML HOLDING | 0.71% | 0.61% |
Weights per fund, normalized. 1,071 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, 0.14% for VWRL.
| IWDA | VWRL | Difference | |
|---|---|---|---|
| After 10 years | 19,307 | 19,416 | 109 |
| After 20 years | 37,276 | 37,697 | 421 |
| After 30 years | 71,968 | 73,191 | 1,223 |
VWRL comes out ahead by about 1,223 per 10,000 invested over 30 years. TER only. Trading spreads, taxes and broker fees are not included.
Where the portfolios differ
| Region | IWDA | VWRL |
|---|---|---|
| United States | 72.8% | 61.4% |
| Taiwan | 0.0% | 3.3% |
| South Korea | 0.0% | 2.5% |
| Hong Kong | 0.4% | 2.5% |
| India | 0.0% | 1.6% |
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 VWRL overlap?+
Yes: 82.53% by weight, with 1,071 holdings appearing in both funds. 96.41% of IWDA’s weight is also inside VWRL.
Do IWDA and VWRL track the same index?+
No. IWDA tracks the MSCI World while VWRL tracks the FTSE All-World. The 82.53% overlap comes from companies that both indices include.
Which is cheaper, IWDA or VWRL?+
VWRL: 0.14% per year against 0.20% for IWDA. At 7% growth that gap is worth about 1,223 per 10,000 invested over 30 years.
Is it worth holding both IWDA and VWRL?+
Holding both mostly duplicates exposure: 82.53% of the pair overlaps by weight. Most investors pick one, or combine one of them with a fund covering different markets.
Why does IWDA hold the same companies at higher weights?+
Same companies, smaller universe: IWDA spreads its weight across 1,186 holdings while VWRL holds 3,598, so each shared position takes a larger slice of IWDA.
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.