The iShares URTH ETF: A Global Fund with a Concentrated Tech Core

MSCI World ETF US4642863926

While the iShares MSCI World ETF (URTH) provides investors with exposure to more than 1,300 companies across 23 developed nations, its performance trajectory is increasingly dictated by a narrow cluster of major U.S. technology stocks. This concentration has become more pronounced in 2025, largely fueled by the remarkable ascent of NVIDIA.

The fund’s substantial allocation to the United States, currently approximately 72%, has been a primary driver of its historical outperformance against more evenly diversified global benchmarks. However, this same characteristic also increases the ETF's vulnerability to volatility within the American technology sector.

A significant development this year has been NVIDIA’s rise to become the fund's largest holding, surpassing both Apple and Microsoft. This shift reflects a worldwide surge in investment directed toward data centers and artificial intelligence infrastructure, from which NVIDIA has captured disproportionate benefits.

Examining Top Holdings and Associated Risks

As of December 19, 2025, the fund's largest individual positions and their weightings are:

• NVIDIA: 5.15%
• Apple: 4.91%
• Microsoft: 4.16%
• Alphabet (combined A and C shares): ~3.95%
• Amazon: 2.65%
• Broadcom: 1.80%
• Meta Platforms: 1.75%
• Tesla: 1.66%
• JPMorgan Chase: 1.05%
• Eli Lilly: 1.03%

Collectively, these ten positions account for roughly 28% of the entire portfolio. This composition reveals that URTH functions less as a traditional global fund and more as a blend of U.S. mega-cap technology stocks complemented by a broad international selection.

The recent inclusion of CoreWeave in the underlying index further amplifies the fund's focus on the AI value chain. Should the investment cycle in artificial intelligence weaken in 2026, URTH would likely face greater pressure than more equally weighted indices with lower technology exposure.

Sector and Geographic Allocation Insights

The breakdown by sector and region clearly identifies the sources of the ETF's momentum:

• Information Technology: ~29% – The most significant contributor to performance.
• Financials: ~15% – Including holdings such as JPMorgan Chase and Visa.
• Health Care: ~11% – Supported by GLP-1 drug providers like Eli Lilly.

From a regional perspective, U.S. dominance is unequivocal:

• United States: 72%
• Japan: ~6%
• United Kingdom: ~3.5%
• France: ~2.8%

This structural bias explains why URTH posted consistent gains throughout 2025 and saw its performance accelerate further following the U.S. elections and the November index rebalancing. The potential downside to this success story, however, is an above-average risk of a pullback should the momentum in U.S. technology and AI segments reverse.