The SPDR Portfolio MSCI Global Stock Market ETF (SPGM) tracks an index that offers broad exposure to the global equity market. SPGM invests in more than a thousand different companies across all markets (excluding frontier markets), making SPGM an appealing option for investors looking to simplify their portfolios and minimize rebalancing obligations. SPGM can easily serve as the core holding of a long-term portfolio. As with all of State Street’s SPDR “Portfolio” lineup, SPGM competes on price with ultra-low-cost funds like the Vanguard Total World Stock ETF (VT), and it is significantly cheaper than the iShares MSCI ACWI ETF (ACWI). While SPGM has broadly similar exposure to VT, it lacks the Vanguard fund’s size and liquidity.
The SPDR Portfolio MSCI Global Stock Market ETF (SPGM) tracks an index that offers broad exposure to the global equity market. SPGM invests in more than a thousand different companies across all markets (excluding frontier markets), making SPGM an appealing option for investors looking to simplify their portfolios and minimize rebalancing obligations. SPGM can easily serve as the core holding of a long-term portfolio. As with all of State Street’s SPDR “Portfolio” lineup, SPGM competes on price with ultra-low-cost funds like the Vanguard Total World Stock ETF (VT), and it is significantly cheaper than the iShares MSCI ACWI ETF (ACWI). While SPGM has broadly similar exposure to VT, it lacks the Vanguard fund’s size and liquidity.
State Street launched its ultra-low-cost SPDR Portfolio lineup in October 2017 after years of losing market share to cheaper rivals at BlackRock, Schwab, and Vanguard. This was a humiliating setback since State Street essentially founded the modern ETF market in 1993 with the launch of the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY). State Street was late to the ultra-low-cost space — BlackRock launched its low-cost iShares Core series five years earlier — but has pushed hard to make up ground. Many of its SPDR Portfolio funds, including SPGM, have been renamed and repriced for this purpose. Prior to September 23, 2019, SPGM traded under the name SPDR MSCI ACWI ETF, under the ticker ACIM.