Developed Markets Indexes
Developed markets are a cornerstone of global investing. They have more advanced economies and more mature capital markets. As investors move away from their home markets, developed markets potentially provide greater stability, transparency and liquidity, serving as an ideal opportunity set for constructing diversified portfolios.
Target benefitsMeasuring established capital markets
Indexes seek to reflect changing markets across regions, market-cap segments, sectors and styles.
Use to measure performance of equity markets across developed market countries.
Select from a range of global, regional, country, sector and style indexes to better capture your investment strategy.
MSCI World IndexWidely recognized index, launched in 1986, measuring performance of equity markets across developed market countries
23
Countries
90%
Weight in MSCI ACWI Index
1,479
Constituents1
Evolution of regional weights within MSCI World
While the MSCI World Index country composition has remained fairly stable over time, regional and country weights have evolved with global markets. Japan dominated in the late 1980s, while Europe rose in the early 2000s. U.S., representing nearly 70% of the index, currently holds the largest share.
Developed Markets IndexesView performance details, fact sheets and more
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How are global equity mandates evolving?
Our research suggests that global equity mandates, often complemented by dedicated emerging market and small-cap specialist mandates, may emerge as the “new classic” structure for implementing global equity allocations.2 Investors may consider active and passive management as complementary strategies across these distinct equity segments.
Investors seeking greater home-market exposure can manage separate domestic portfolios alongside the global equity structure or explore a core-satellite structure where the active-passive split extends to each equity market segment to implement the global equity allocation.
Developed Markets index resources
Global Investable Market Indexes methodology
Take a deeper dive into our thinking behind our Developed Markets Indexes.
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Related to Developed Markets Indexes
Emerging Markets Indexes
Explore indexes built with the aim of helping you measure return in rapidly growing economies around the world.
¹ As of February 2024
2 https://www.msci.com/documents/10199/4f05c23b-26b6-b3bd-e075-8ba20e763c2c