X MSCI WORLD 1C

MSCI World covers large and mid-cap companies across 23 developed markets. It deliberately excludes emerging markets, and excludes small caps.

This fund holds roughly 1,450 companies and has been running for about 11 years, with USD as its base currency. That base currency is an accounting detail, not a risk you can avoid by buying a euro line — the underlying companies earn in their own currencies either way.

The fund buys every constituent of the index in its index weight. That keeps tracking tight and the holdings easy to reason about, at the cost of more trading in the smaller names.

Roughly seven tenths of it is the United States, so it is far less geographically balanced than the name suggests. Pairing it with an emerging-markets fund is the usual way to close the gap; adding a US fund on top mostly doubles what you already own.

2 other funds on this site track the same index, so they hold substantially the same companies. What separates them is cost, wrapper and distribution policy — not what you own.

On cost this fund ranks 2 of 3. The cheapest is SPPW at 0.12%, a gap of €7.00 per €10,000 per year — about €1,391 on a €100,000 holding over 20 years, for the same index. By assets it is number 2 of 3.

Holding two of these together is duplication rather than diversification: near-identical holdings, twice the transaction costs, and two positions to rebalance instead of one.

The ongoing charge of 0.19% is €19.00 per year on a €10,000 holding. It is taken inside the fund, so it never appears on a statement — which is exactly why it goes unnoticed for years at a time.

The more honest figure is the tracking difference: -0.04% — what the fund has actually cost against its index, after securities lending income and withholding-tax treatment. It can be smaller than the headline charge, and occasionally negative.

Comfortably large enough that closure is not a live concern and on-exchange liquidity is good.

DEGIRO charges 0.1% whenever a trade settles in a non-euro currency. Buying the euro line (XDWD GY) on XETRA or Euronext Amsterdam avoids it entirely. The fund’s own base currency is irrelevant here — only the currency of the line you trade counts.

The same fund is a different proposition in each country, and the differences are large enough to change which share class you should own.

Netherlands

Box 3 taxes an assumed return on your wealth, not what this fund actually pays or gains: 6.00% deemed return taxed at 36%, above a tax-free threshold of €59,357. Accumulating and distributing funds are treated identically, so the choice between them is about reinvestment friction, not tax.

Germany

As an accumulating fund this is taxed through the Vorabpauschale — an advance charge of 70% × the Basiszins (2.25%) × the value, capped at the year's actual gain, with 30% Teilfreistellung on an equity fund. You owe it in years the fund pays you nothing, so keep cash for it.

Belgium

Belgian stock-exchange tax (TOB) applies per side at 1.32% here — the high band, because this is an accumulating fund registered with the FSMA. A distributing share class of the same index is often the cheaper wrapper in Belgium for exactly this reason, which is the opposite of the Dutch conclusion. Reynders capital-gains tax does not apply, as the fund is not bond-heavy.

Italy

Imposta di bollo takes 0.20% of the holding every year, with no threshold and no exemption. Capital gains are taxed at 26% but only when you sell — an accumulating fund defers that charge for as long as you hold, which compounds in your favour against a distributing equivalent.

Does X MSCI WORLD 1C pay dividends?

No. X MSCI WORLD 1C is an accumulating fund: dividends received from its holdings are reinvested inside the fund instead of being paid out, so the value of your units rises rather than cash arriving in your account. You still owe tax on them in some countries — Germany's Vorabpauschale is the clearest example.

How much does X MSCI WORLD 1C cost to hold?

The ongoing charge is 0.19% per year, which is €19.00 a year on a €10,000 holding, deducted inside the fund rather than billed to you. Its measured tracking difference is -0.04%, which is what the fund has actually cost against its index — a more honest number than the headline charge.

Is X MSCI WORLD 1C free to buy on DEGIRO?

No — it is not in DEGIRO's Core Selection, so normal transaction fees apply on every purchase. For a monthly contribution that charge is a real drag on small amounts.

Which listing of X MSCI WORLD 1C should I buy to avoid the currency fee?

Buy the euro line (XDWD GY) on XETRA or Euronext Amsterdam. DEGIRO charges 0.1% when a trade settles in a non-euro currency, and the fund's own base currency (USD) is irrelevant to that — only the currency of the listing you trade matters.

What is the difference between X MSCI WORLD 1C and the other funds on the same index?

2 other funds here track the same index, so they hold substantially the same companies and their returns differ mainly by cost and wrapper rather than by what they own. The lowest ongoing charge among them is 0.12% (SPPW). The choices that actually matter are accumulating versus distributing, the fee, fund size, and whether your broker charges you to buy it.

Why is X MSCI WORLD 1C domiciled in Ireland?

Ireland's tax treaty with the United States reduces withholding tax on US dividends to 15% for a qualifying fund, against 30% without it. Since US companies are the largest block in most global and developed indices, that treaty rate is worth more to a European investor than a domestic domicile would be — it is the single biggest reason nearly every UCITS ETF sold in Europe is Irish.