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World ETF vs S&P 500: how to compare them

A whole-world ETF and an S&P 500 ETF are both common starting points — they just cover different amounts of the map.

iShares Core S&P 500 UCITS ETF

iShares
EquityAccumulatingIE
TER ?0.07%per year
1-yr+14.1%Total Return ?
Fund size ?$147.8BCSPX
IE00B5BMR087 View →

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👉 Change the numbers above — it’s your money, your assumptions.

Same idea, different breadth

Both are index ETFs — the difference is how much of the world they cover. The S&P 500 is one country (the US), 500 big companies. A world fund spans many developed countries and thousands of companies. Same simple idea, wider or narrower The part of the world the fund invests in — for example world, US, Europe or emerging markets. More → .

How to compare any two funds here

Open the screener, tick two funds and press Compare. Look at the yearly fee ( The yearly running cost of the fund, shown as a % of your money. €0.20 per €100 a year at 0.20%. Lower is cheaper. More → ), what each one holds, and the Performance that includes reinvested dividends — the fuller picture of what you actually earned. More → basis shown. One important caution: a fund that did well over the last year may not do so next year — past performance is not a prediction. We show the facts; the choice is yours.

🤔 Compared with an S&P 500 ETF, a world ETF generally…

Common questions

Isn’t the world fund mostly US anyway?
A large chunk of a developed-world index is US companies, because they are big — but it still adds many other countries the S&P 500 leaves out. The screener shows what each holds.
Which one is right for me?
We don’t answer that — it depends on your goals and how concentrated you want to be. The compare tool lays out the facts so you can decide. Education, not advice.