VWCE vs CSPX: All-World or S&P 500?

What you actually own

VWCE tracks the FTSE All-World index: around 3,782 large and mid-cap companies spread across developed and emerging markets, from the US and Europe to Japan, and on to China, India and Taiwan. It rebalances between those markets automatically as their relative sizes shift, so you never have to touch it. According to Vanguard's portfolio data (30 June 2026), North America makes up about 62% of the fund, which tells you something important: even the "whole world" fund is mostly American.

CSPX tracks the S&P 500: the 500 largest companies listed in the United States, and nothing else. No Europe, no Japan, no emerging markets, no smaller companies. It is a clean, cheap, single-country index that has been one of the strongest performers of the past decade, which is exactly why so many Irish investors are drawn to it.

The overlap people miss

Here is the point that changes the whole comparison: CSPX sits inside VWCE. Every S&P 500 company is already held within VWCE as part of its US weighting. So these are not two different markets you choose between; one is a subset of the other.

That has a practical consequence. Holding both VWCE and CSPX together does not diversify you, it concentrates you further into the US. If you want more US than VWCE gives you, that can be a deliberate choice, but be clear that is what you are doing, rather than assuming two funds means more diversification.

Cost

On fee, CSPX wins: iShares lists it at a 0.07% ongoing charge, against VWCE's 0.19%, which Vanguard has announced it is cutting to 0.14%. The gap is real but modest, and it reflects that CSPX tracks one simple index while VWCE tracks a far broader global one. On a €20,000 holding, the difference between 0.07% and 0.14% is about €14 a year. That is not nothing, but it is nowhere near large enough to justify choosing a US-only fund over a global one if diversification is what you actually want.

The real trade-off: diversification vs concentration

The honest version of this comparison is not "which has performed better". Over the last decade the S&P 500 has outperformed global markets, and CSPX has ridden that. But past performance is not future performance, and the entire reason to hold a global fund is that no single country stays on top forever. VWCE spreads your money across the world so that you own the next leader whoever it turns out to be; CSPX bets that the US keeps leading.

Neither is objectively correct. If you believe US dominance will continue, CSPX expresses that cheaply. If you would rather not make that call, VWCE makes it unnecessary. What matters is that you choose knowingly, rather than picking CSPX simply because it has done well recently.

Currency and tax: not the deciding factors

Both funds are USD-denominated and both are available on euro-listed lines. The listing currency does not change your currency risk, because the underlying companies are priced in their own currencies regardless; buying the euro line simply saves you a conversion fee at purchase.

On tax, there is nothing to choose. Both are Irish-domiciled accumulating UCITS funds, so both are taxed at 38% exit tax on gains, with no CGT exemption and no loss offsetting, and both fall under the 8-year deemed disposal rule. Your VWCE vs CSPX decision has zero tax consequence, so make it on diversification and cost alone. The Irish ETF tax guide covers the mechanics.