Vanguard FTSE Global All-Cap ETF: Over 10,000 stocks for 0.07 percent – how to buy it in Switzerland in Swiss francs
The «Vanguard FTSE Global All-Cap UCITS ETF» is one of the broadest and cheapest global ETFs. With more than 10,000 stocks from developed and emerging markets as well as small caps, it tracks almost the entire global stock market. Swiss investors can buy the ETF in Swiss francs on the SIX via Saxo or Swissquote.
No broker yet? Start with trading credit
New customers receive CHF 200 in trading credit at Saxo and CHF 100 at Swissquote. This makes your first purchases of the ETF practically free of fees. (*Partner offer)
Key facts at a glance
The ETF tracks the FTSE Global All Cap Index with more than 10,000 stocks.
It covers developed and emerging markets as well as large, mid-sized and small companies.
The index covers around 98 percent of the global investable stock market.
Ongoing charges are 0.07 percent per year.
There is an accumulating and a distributing version.
Both versions are available at Saxo and Swissquote via the SIX – in Swiss francs and in US dollars.
Table of Contents
What is the Vanguard FTSE Global All-Cap UCITS ETF?
The Vanguard FTSE Global All-Cap UCITS ETF is a global equity ETF. It invests in large, mid-sized and small companies from developed and emerging markets. The ETF was launched on 18 August 2026 and is domiciled in Ireland.
Feature | Details |
|---|---|
Name | Vanguard FTSE Global All-Cap UCITS ETF |
Benchmark index | FTSE Global All Cap Index |
Stocks in the index | 10,221 as at 30 September 2026 |
Market coverage | around 98 percent |
Replication | physical, using sampling |
Ongoing charges | 0.07 percent per year |
Fund domicile | Ireland |
Launch date | 18 August 2026 |
Base currency | USD |
Stock exchanges | SIX (CHF and USD), London, Xetra, Amsterdam and Milan |
More than 10,000 stocks in the index
The FTSE Global All Cap Index comprises more than 10,200 companies. Of these, the Vanguard ETF holds just under 7,000 stocks. Vanguard replicates the index using so-called sampling, selecting a representative subset of the companies it contains.
The remaining 3,000 or so stocks account for only a very small share of the index weight. Many of them are also illiquid and therefore costly to trade. If Vanguard bought these securities too, trading costs could rise without any noticeable change in the ETF's performance. Thanks to sampling, the ETF achieves very broad coverage while tracking the index efficiently and at low cost.
What makes this global ETF special
Many well-known global ETFs only contain large and mid-sized companies. These include ETFs on the MSCI World, the MSCI ACWI and the FTSE All-World. The FTSE Global All Cap additionally includes small companies from developed and emerging markets. This increases coverage of the global stock market from around 90 to around 98 percent.
The new ETF therefore goes a step further than most traditional global ETFs. It contains not only well-known giants such as Nvidia, Apple and Microsoft, but also thousands of smaller companies that are missing from an MSCI World, MSCI ACWI or FTSE All-World.
The additional small caps make up only a relatively small share of global market capitalisation. However, they significantly increase the number of stocks tracked. Investors thus get broader diversification across countries and company sizes than with a traditional global ETF without small caps.
The FTSE Global All Cap is not complete either: micro caps are missing. These particularly small companies account for the remaining roughly two percent of the investable stock market. Including them would greatly increase the number of index constituents but improve market coverage only marginally.
Vanguard's range of global ETFs at a glance
Vanguard offers several ETFs for global equity investing. The main differences lie in the countries and company sizes covered.
The FTSE Developed World ETF invests exclusively in developed markets. The FTSE All-World ETF adds emerging markets. Both, however, only include large and mid-sized companies. The FTSE Global All Cap ETF additionally includes thousands of smaller companies and thus offers the broadest market coverage of the three core ETFs. Only micro caps – the smallest listed companies – are missing.
The FTSE Developed World, the FTSE All-World and the FTSE Global All Cap are each suitable as the sole core of a global equity portfolio. The Global Small-Cap ETF, by contrast, contains only small companies and serves as a complement to an existing global ETF. The All-World Ex-U.S. ETF is not a complete global investment either, as US stocks are deliberately excluded.
The chart shows the ISIN of the accumulating version in each case. In this version, dividends are automatically reinvested. All five ETFs are also available as a distributing version.
Despite 10,000 stocks, the US remains dominant
More than 10,000 index constituents does not mean that the money is spread evenly across 10,000 stocks. The FTSE Global All Cap is weighted by market capitalisation. The higher a company's market value, the larger its share of the index. The US therefore still accounts for around 60 percent of the index. At the top are the same large technology groups as in other global indices, including Nvidia, Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, Alphabet and Broadcom. The additional small caps increase market breadth. But they eliminate neither the heavy US weighting nor the concentration on the world's largest groups. This is not a design flaw, but a consequence of weighting by market value. The ETF tracks the global stock market as it is actually composed.
Small caps do not guarantee higher returns
Small caps are often associated with the so-called size premium. This refers to the assumption that smaller companies can achieve higher returns than large companies over the long term. Such an excess return is not guaranteed, however. Small caps can underperform large companies for long periods. Their prices also tend to fluctuate more, and their shares are sometimes less liquid. The ETF's main advantage therefore does not lie in a promised outperformance. It tracks the global stock market more completely than a traditional All-World ETF without small caps.
Ongoing charges are just 0.07 percent
The ongoing charges of the Vanguard FTSE Global All-Cap UCITS ETF are 0.07 percent per year. On an investment of CHF 10,000, 0.07 percent equals CHF 7 per year. On CHF 100,000, it is CHF 70. The costs are deducted from the fund's assets on an ongoing basis. You do not receive a separate invoice.
When buying and selling, the following also apply:
your broker's trading commission
the ETF's bid-ask spread
currency conversion costs (only when buying in US dollars, if you do not hold dollars)
stamp duty
Comparison with other broad global ETFs
The direct competitor is the «State Street SPDR MSCI All Country World Investable Market UCITS ETF» (formerly «SPDR MSCI ACWI IMI»). It also covers developed and emerging markets including small caps, but costs more than twice as much and is traded on the SIX in US dollars only. The Vanguard ETF thus combines the costs of a very cheap All-World ETF with the broader coverage of an All-Cap index and can be traded in francs on the SIX.
ETF | Stocks in the index | Small caps | Ongoing charges (TER) | CHF line on the SIX |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Vanguard FTSE Global All-Cap | 10,221 | Yes | 0.07% | Yes |
State Street SPDR MSCI ACWI IMI | around 8,000 | Yes | 0.17% | No (USD only) |
Vanguard FTSE All-World | around 4,000 | No | 0.14% | Yes |
Xtrackers FTSE All-World | around 4,000 | No | 0.07% | Yes |
Accumulating or distributing
Vanguard offers the ETF in an accumulating and a distributing version. Both versions are listed on the SIX on two trading lines: in Swiss francs and in US dollars. The CHF and USD lines carry the same ISIN and the same ticker. They differ only in the trading currency – so make sure to select the CHF line when placing your order.
Version | Use of dividends | SIX ticker | ISIN | Trading currencies on the SIX |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Accumulating | automatic reinvestment | VALL | IE000VAHT5T0 | CHF, USD |
Distributing | quarterly payout | VALLD | IE000CVUM3N6 | CHF, USD |
The accumulating version automatically reinvests the dividends received. It is suitable for investors who want to build wealth over the long term without having to handle reinvestment themselves. The distributing version pays out the income quarterly. It is a better fit if you want to receive regular distributions.
How to buy the ETF at Saxo or Swissquote
The Vanguard FTSE Global All-Cap UCITS ETF is available at Saxo and Swissquote. At both Swiss brokers, you can buy it directly on the SIX Swiss Exchange in Swiss francs. If you do not have a broker yet, you will find the right provider in our broker comparison.
The easiest way to find the ETF is via the ISIN:
IE000VAHT5T0 for the accumulating version
IE000CVUM3N6 for the distributing version
The search shows you two lines on the SIX with the same ticker. Select the line with CHF as the trading currency if you hold francs in your account. If you already hold US dollars, you can use the USD line.
Buy in francs or in US dollars?
On the SIX, you can buy both versions in Swiss francs or in US dollars. If you hold francs in your account, buy in francs. This saves you the fee your broker charges for converting into dollars: 0.25 percent at Saxo, 0.95 percent at Swissquote. If you already hold US dollars, buy in dollars and you also save on the conversion.
A small downside of buying in francs: the ETF is traded more frequently in dollars. As a result, the difference between the buying and selling price – the so-called bid-ask spread – is often slightly smaller there. On CHF 10,000, however, this usually amounts to only a few francs, while the currency conversion costs CHF 25 to 95 depending on the broker. For investors with a franc account, buying in francs therefore remains the cheaper choice.
The trading currency does not determine the currency risk
The fact that you can buy the ETF in francs does not mean that it invests in francs. The ETF holds stocks from numerous countries and currency areas. The economic currency risk arises from the companies it holds and their home and business currencies. Since US stocks make up around 60 percent of the index, the US dollar nevertheless remains particularly important. The trading currency only determines the currency in which you buy and sell the ETF on the exchange. The CHF line saves you the conversion fee, not the exchange rate fluctuations. The ETF is not currency-hedged.
Should you switch from an existing global ETF?
The Vanguard ETF is attractive. But that does not mean you should immediately sell an existing MSCI World, MSCI ACWI or FTSE All-World ETF.
Switching incurs the following costs:
selling fee for the existing ETF
buying fee for the new ETF
bid-ask spread on both transactions
currency conversion costs, if the existing ETF is traded in a different currency
stamp duty
Even with moderate selling and buying costs, it takes several years for these costs to be recouped through the lower management fees. If you are happy with your existing global ETF, you can keep it and invest new contributions in the Vanguard FTSE Global All-Cap UCITS ETF.
Who is the Vanguard FTSE Global All-Cap ETF suitable for?
In our view, the ETF is suitable for investors who:
want to invest globally with a single ETF
want to cover developed and emerging markets including small caps
invest for the long term
can tolerate price fluctuations
are looking for low ongoing charges
want to trade in francs and avoid a currency conversion
Our verdict
The Vanguard FTSE Global All-Cap UCITS ETF is one of the most interesting global ETFs for Swiss investors. It tracks an index with more than 10,000 stocks, includes small caps and costs just 0.07 percent per year. With more than 4 billion US dollars in fund assets, it already ranks among the large global ETFs. The ETF is particularly interesting for new investors who want to cover as much of the global stock market as possible with a single product. The combination of around 98 percent market coverage and very low costs is compelling. It is also a plus that you can buy the ETF at Saxo and Swissquote directly on the SIX in Swiss francs – with no currency conversion fee. The slightly wider bid-ask spread, on the other hand, hardly matters.
FAQ
How much does the Vanguard FTSE Global All-Cap ETF cost?
Ongoing charges are 0.07 percent per year. When buying and selling, trading fees, spreads and stamp duty also apply. There are no currency conversion costs if you use the CHF line on the SIX.
Where can I buy the Vanguard FTSE Global All-Cap ETF in Switzerland?
You can buy the Vanguard FTSE Global All-Cap UCITS ETF at Saxo and Swissquote, among others. Both Swiss brokers offer the ETF on the SIX Swiss Exchange in CHF and USD. You can find the accumulating version via the ISIN IE000VAHT5T0 and the distributing version via IE000CVUM3N6.
Can I buy the Vanguard FTSE Global All-Cap ETF in Swiss francs?
Yes. On the SIX, there is a trading line in Swiss francs for both versions (ticker VALL or VALLD, trading currency CHF). This eliminates the currency conversion when buying.
Should I buy the ETF in francs or in dollars?
With francs in your account, buy in francs: you save the conversion fee, which is significantly higher than the small spread disadvantage compared with dollar trading. With US dollars in your account, buy in dollars.
Can I buy the Vanguard FTSE Global All-Cap ETF at Saxo?
Yes. At Saxo, the ETF is available on the SIX in CHF and USD. Saxo is particularly suitable if you value low trading costs.
Can I buy the Vanguard FTSE Global All-Cap ETF at Swissquote?
Yes. At Swissquote, the ETF is available on the SIX in CHF and USD. Swissquote is particularly suitable for investors who already have a Swissquote account or want to use banking and securities trading at the same Swiss bank.
How do I buy the Vanguard FTSE Global All-Cap ETF at Saxo or Swissquote?
After opening an account, you deposit money into your brokerage account and search for the ETF – most easily via the ISIN. For the accumulating version, it is IE000VAHT5T0, for the distributing version IE000CVUM3N6. You then select the SIX as the trading venue and the line with CHF as the trading currency, and place your order.
