Performance Comparison: MSCI World ETF vs S&P500 ETF (2004-2024)
Over the past 20 years, the choice between an ETF tracking the MSCI World and an ETF following the S&P500 has proven decisive for the overall performance of an international equity portfolio. In euros, the average annualized performance of the S&P500 over the 2004-2024 period reaches approximately +9.8% per year, compared to +7.9% per year for the MSCI World.
These figures notably come from popular ETFs such as the Amundi MSCI World UCITS ETF (ISIN: FR0010756098, TER 0.38%) and the iShares Core S&P 500 UCITS ETF (ISIN: IE00B5BMR087, TER 0.07%). This 1.9 percentage point difference in favor of the S&P500 is explained by the marked outperformance of U.S. stocks, particularly the tech giants, over this period.
Decade-by-Decade Analysis: 2000-2010 and 2010-2020
To better understand the underlying dynamics, it is useful to split the 20 years into two decades:
| Decade | S&P500 (annualized performance in EUR) | MSCI World (annualized performance in EUR) |
|---|---|---|
| 2000-2010 | -0.9% | +1.8% |
| 2010-2020 | +13.6% | +8.5% |
The first decade was marked by the bursting of the internet bubble in 2000, followed by the 2008 financial crisis. The S&P500 suffered a slight average annual loss (-0.9%), while the MSCI World limited the damage thanks to its geographic diversification (+1.8%).
The following decade saw overwhelming dominance by the United States, driven by the GAFAM (Google, Apple, Facebook, Amazon, Microsoft). The S&P500 thus generated an exceptional annualized performance of +13.6%, compared to +8.5% for the MSCI World. The overwhelming weight of the American giants in the index explains this outperformance.