Exchange-traded funds can offer a simple and inexpensive way to gain exposure to global stocks and some of these are highly rated by Morningstar’s fund analysts. This comes at a time when global equity markets delivered a mixed performance in the first half 2025, as resilient corporate earnings and easing inflationary pressures battled rising geopolitical tensions and worries over the impact of trade policies on economic growth.
Year to date, global large-cap blend equity ETFs attracted by far the largest inflows among those domiciled in Europe, with EUR 30 billion taken in between January and May. Looking at monthly flows over the last 10 years, it appears clear that this type of instrument has become increasingly popular among investors, particularly over the last 12 months.
To help investors find ETFs focused on international stocks, we’ve screened 152 ETFs in Morningstar’s Global Large-Cap Blend Equity category for those with either Gold or Silver Medalist Ratings.
A Gold Rating means our analysts believe a fund has the greatest chance of outperforming its category over the long term, while a Silver Rating means they believe it will outperform its relevant performance benchmark and/or peer group.
A number of different providers make the list:
- iShares Core MSCI World UCITS ETF EUNL
- Vanguard FTSE All-World UCITS ETF VWRL
- Xtrackers MSCI World UCITS ETF 1D XDWL
- iShares MSCI ACWI UCITS ETF IUSQ
- SPDR MSCI World UCITS ETF SPPW
Screening For the Best Global Large-Cap Blend Equity ETFs
We screened for ETFs with Gold or Silver Medalist Ratings that are 100% assigned by Morningstar analysts (rather than indirectly or quantitatively assigned). All the 16 ETFs that made it through the screen hold a Medalist Rating of Silver and are passively managed. Given the large number of strategies available, we will limit ourselves here to presenting the five largest ETFs in terms of assets.
Here’s a closer look at the strategies:
iShares Core MSCI World UCITS ETF EUNL
- Morningstar Medalist Rating: Silver
- Morningstar Rating: ★★★★★
The £80 billion iShares Core MSCI World UCITS ETF rose 5.91% over the past year. The fund beat its benchmark, the Morningstar Global Target Market Exposure Index, by 0.34 percentage points. Year to date, the iShares fund fell 1.28%.
Vanguard FTSE All-World UCITS ETF VWRL
- Morningstar Medalist Rating: Silver
- Morningstar Rating: ★★★★
The £30.4 billion Vanguard FTSE All-World UCITS ETF rose 5.49% over the past year. The fund performed roughly in line with its benchmark, the Morningstar Global Target Market Exposure Index. Year to date, the Vanguard fund fell 1.37%.
Xtrackers MSCI World UCITS ETF 1D XDWL
- Morningstar Medalist Rating: Silver
- Morningstar Rating: ★★★★★
The £15.9 billion Xtrackers MSCI World UCITS ETF rose 6.17% over the past year. The fund beat its benchmark, the Morningstar Global Target Market Exposure Index, by 0.6 percentage points. Year to date, the Xtrackers fund fell 1.38%.
iShares MSCI ACWI UCITS ETF IUSQ
- Morningstar Medalist Rating: Silver
- Morningstar Rating: ★★★★
The £15.3 billion iShares V PLC — iShares MSCI ACWI UCITS ETF USD (Acc) rose 6.1% over the past year. The fund beat its benchmark, the Morningstar Global Target Market Exposure Index, by 0.53 percentage points. Year to date, the iShares fund fell 0.84%.
SPDR MSCI World UCITS ETF SPPW
- Morningstar Medalist Rating: Silver
- Morningstar Rating: ★★★★★
The £9.7 billion SPDR MSCI World UCITS ETF rose 6.19% over the past year. The fund beat its benchmark, the Morningstar Global Target Market Exposure Index, by 0.62 percentage points. Year to date, the State Street fund fell 1.39%.
