iShares MSCI World ESG Screened UCITS ETF (Acc) (SAWD.L)
A single fund giving you a broad slice of shares from developed economies worldwide, with certain controversial industries screened out.
Is iShares MSCI World ESG Screened UCITS ETF (Acc) a good fund for a UK beginner?
The honest version: A single fund giving you a broad slice of shares from developed economies worldwide, with certain controversial industries screened out.
Over about 2 years to 2026-07-15. This already includes the fund's dividends, which an accumulating fund reinvests for you. And it's the USD return - as a UK investor your actual £ return also moves with the exchange rate. Past performance is not a guide to the future, and it could just as easily have fallen.
This is a fund, so it moves with its whole basket (ESG) - not any single company's news. One share having a bad day barely shows up here.
What does iShares MSCI World ESG Screened UCITS ETF (Acc) do?
This fund tracks the MSCI World ESG Screened index, holding a wide basket of shares from developed markets while filtering out businesses involved in tobacco, controversial weapons, and thermal coal. With a single purchase, your money is spread across major global companies and sectors, led heavily by technology and financial services. The ongoing charge is 0.2% a year, which means about £2.00 annually for every £1,000 you have invested. Dividends are automatically accumulating, meaning any money paid out by the underlying companies is reinvested straight back into the fund to help it grow.
Holds a broad basket of developed-world shares after screening out tobacco, weapons, thermal coal and other excluded businesses.
What's actually inside this fund?
Despite the ‘global’ or ‘world’ name, about 71% of this fund is US companies - a world tracker is more of a US bet than it sounds. That's the shape of the market, not a choice the fund makes. (Approximate index weight.)
Its 10 biggest holdings
- 1NVIDIA Corp5.6%
- 2Apple Inc5.1%
- 3Microsoft Corp3.2%
- 4Amazon.com Inc2.8%
- 5Alphabet Inc Class A2.5%
- 6Broadcom Inc2.1%
- 7Alphabet Inc Class C2.0%
- 8Micron Technology Inc1.6%
- 9Meta Platforms Inc Class A1.5%
- 10Tesla Inc1.4%
The top 10 add up to about 28% of the fund. The rest is spread thinly across the fund's many other holdings.
By sector
- Technology33%
- Financials17%
- Industrials11%
- Healthcare10%
- Consumer cyclical9%
- Communications9%
- Materials3%
- Consumer staples3%
Top holdings and sector split from the fund's published data as of the figures date - they drift over time as the fund and the index change.
- Provides very broad exposure to developed-world share markets in a single step
- Screens out specific controversial industries like tobacco and thermal coal
- Low ongoing cost of 0.2% a year
- Automatically reinvests dividends to grow the fund
- The value of your investment will fall whenever global share markets drop
- Heavy concentration in a handful of giant technology companies
- Subject to currency swings between British pounds and foreign currencies
- ESG screening excludes certain sectors, which may lead to different performance compared to the broader market
More in ESG
What are the pros and cons of iShares MSCI World ESG Screened UCITS ETF (Acc)?
How many points the write-up makes each way — a balance check, not a score or verdict.
- Provides very broad exposure to developed-world share markets in a single step
- Screens out specific controversial industries like tobacco and thermal coal
- Low ongoing cost of 0.2% a year
- Automatically reinvests dividends to grow the fund
- The value of your investment will fall whenever global share markets drop
- Heavy concentration in a handful of giant technology companies
- Subject to currency swings between British pounds and foreign currencies
- ESG screening excludes certain sectors, which may lead to different performance compared to the broader market
Built from public filings & market prices, checked for an education-only tone, and never a price target. How we make these →
This plain-English summary was auto-generated on 2026-08-01 from public data and checked for an education-only, no-advice tone (the figures above carry their own, usually fresher, 'as of' date). It's information, never a recommendation.