Meet the International ETF Quietly Beating the S&P 500 in 2026
Key Points
This ETF can serve to diversify your portfolio, helping to protect you from U.S. market downswings.
It encompasses many big, familiar names, such as Taiwan Semiconductor, SK Hynix, and Samsung.
- 10 stocks we like better than iShares Trust - iShares Core Msci Total International Stock ETF ›
Everywhere you look, you can find people recommending investing in the S&P 500 via low-fee index funds such as the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (NYSEMKT: VOO). It's not the only solid investment you might make, though.
You might also want to look into the iShares Core MSCI Total International Stock ETF (NASDAQ: IXUS) -- which has actually been delivering a superior performance so far in 2026.
Where to invest $1,000 right now? Our analyst team just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks to buy right now, when you join Stock Advisor. See the stocks »
Image source: Getty Images.
Meet the iShares Core MSCI Total International Stock ETF
The iShares Core MSCI Total International Stock ETF is an exchange-traded fund (ETF) -- a fund that trades like a stock, making it easy to invest in via any good brokerage.
It's also an index fund. Index funds are a great investment option for most people, often with very low fees. This ETF has an expense ratio of 0.07%, meaning it will charge you $7 annually for every $10,000 invested in the fund. It tracks the MSCI ACWI ex USA Investable Market index, which is focused on small-, mid-, and large-cap stocks from international emerging and developed markets. The ETF recently held about 4,300 stocks, with very little turnover.
The table below shows how the ETF has performed lately. I'm including the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF's performance as well for comparison.
|
Fund |
Year to date |
3-Year Avg. Annual Return |
5-Year Avg. Annual Return |
10-Year Avg. Annual Return |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
iShares Core MSCI Total International Stock ETF |
13.46% |
18.89% |
8.85% |
9.88% |
|
Vanguard S&P 500 ETF |
10.81% |
20.94% |
13.17% |
15.26% |
Source: Morningstar.com, as of July 8, 2026.
As you can see, the international ETF has outperformed the S&P 500 year to date. You'll also see that it has lagged the S&P 500 over many other periods. It's actually kind of hard to outperform the S&P 500 in recent years, as about 39% of its value is in huge, powerful growers such as Nvidia, Apple, Microsoft, and Amazon.
Should you invest in the iShares Core MSCI Total International Stock ETF?
It's generally a good idea not to base investments on past performance. The iShares Core MSCI Total International Stock ETF may well outperform the S&P 500 in many years to come. Here are some reasons to consider it for your portfolio.
For starters, it's focused on countries outside America. Many of us have much of our assets invested domestically, so diversifying internationally can be a good idea, potentially protecting your assets to some degree during a major U.S. stock market crash.
Here are the iShares Core MSCI Total International Stock ETF's recent top holdings:
|
Stock |
Weight in ETF |
|---|---|
|
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing |
4.37% |
|
Samsung Electronics |
2.12% |
|
SK Hynix |
1.86% |
|
ASML Holding |
1.57% |
|
Tencent Holdings |
0.85% |
|
HSBC Holdings |
0.78% |
|
Roche Holding |
0.69% |
|
Royal Bank of Canada |
0.68% |
|
AstraZeneca |
0.68% |
|
Novartis |
0.68% |
Source: Morningstar.com. As of July 7, 2026.
These are the big, heavy hitters of Asia, Europe (and Canada)! They, and the rest of the ETF's holdings, together offer a dividend yield of 2.9%, vs. the S&P 500's 1.1%. That alone is a big difference worth appreciating.
Give this ETF -- or other international ETFs -- some consideration, as they may serve you and your portfolio well.
Should you buy stock in iShares Trust - iShares Core Msci Total International Stock ETF right now?
Before you buy stock in iShares Trust - iShares Core Msci Total International Stock ETF, consider this:
The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and iShares Trust - iShares Core Msci Total International Stock ETF wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.
Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $395,679!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $1,294,805!*
Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 929% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 211% for the S&P 500. Don't miss the latest top 10 list, available with Stock Advisor, and join an investing community built by individual investors for individual investors.
See the 10 stocks »
*Stock Advisor returns as of July 13, 2026.
HSBC Holdings is an advertising partner of Motley Fool Money. Selena Maranjian has positions in ASML, Amazon, Apple, HSBC Holdings, Microsoft, Novartis, Nvidia, Roche Holding AG, and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends ASML, Amazon, Apple, AstraZeneca Plc, Microsoft, Nvidia, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, Tencent, and Vanguard S&P 500 ETF. The Motley Fool recommends HSBC Holdings and Roche Holding AG. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
Recommended Articles
