iShares MSCI Global Min Vol Factor ETF

iShares MSCI Global Min Vol Factor ETF (ACWV), from BlackRock's iShares, tracks the MSCI ACWI Minimum Volatility Index. That index holds about 400 stocks from developed and emerging markets, picked and weighted to keep price swings low. What sets it apart is a smoother ride: one-year volatility was 8.2% as of October 27, 2026. The trade-off is weaker gains when markets rally. Its 0.20% fee is also higher than the 0.15% charged by its US-only sibling, USMV.

• Over the year to Oct 27, 2026, ACWV returned +8.7%, 8th of 9 among similar funds.
• Its 5-year annualized return was +6.4% and its 10-year +8.1%.
• In the 2020 COVID crash it fell 28.8% and regained its old high 9.6 months after the low.
• Its worst full calendar year was 2022 (-10.3%); its best was 2019 (+21.0%).
• The deepest fall in its price history was 28.8% (Feb 14, 2020 to Mar 23, 2020), recovered by Jan 8, 2021.

As of Aug 31, 2026, the fund held 408 securities; the ten largest made up 12.17% of assets.

By sector

• Over the three months to Aug 31, 2026, investors withdrew a net $24.2M (creations minus redemptions, per the N-PORT report).
• Monthly total returns reported for that quarter: -0.40%, +3.23%, +2.44%.

The fund tracks the MSCI ACWI Minimum Volatility (USD) Index. MSCI builds it from the MSCI All Country World Index, which covers large and mid-size companies in developed and emerging markets and weights them by market value. MSCI then runs its risk model and an optimizer to find the mix with the lowest expected volatility, meaning the smallest overall price swings. Limits on individual stock and sector weights, plus checks on traits like liquidity and debt levels, keep the index from crowding into a few names. The rules are set in advance, and no one makes judgment calls.

MSCI rebuilds the index every quarter, and each rebuild can replace at most 5% of the index. That keeps trading down; the fund's turnover was 27%. BlackRock Fund Advisors uses representative sampling, which means it may hold a close-matching sample rather than every index stock. At least 80% of assets go into index stocks or near-equivalents such as depositary receipts. Up to 20% can go into futures, swaps, cash or money market funds. As of August 31, 2026, the fund held 408 stocks. About 56% were US companies, and the top 10 made up 12.2% of assets.

The fund doesn't try to beat its index, and it doesn't move to cash when markets fall. It may lend out up to one-third of its assets. Because the fund is valued in US dollars, changes in foreign exchange rates also move its value.

• ACWV charges 0.2% a year, versus an average of 0.31% for the similar funds below (5th of 9, cheapest first).
• Using the prospectus's standard example, $10,000 invested would cost about $20 in the first year and $255 over 10 years (assuming a 5% annual return).

It spreads money across global stocks picked for smaller price swings, so it has tended to fall less than the broad market, though it still falls.

ACWV could serve as a calmer stock holding. Its one-year beta was 0.32 as of October 27, 2026. Beta measures how much a fund tends to move when the market moves. Lower swings still mean real losses, though. In the 2020 COVID crash, the fund fell 28.8% and took 9.6 months to get back to its old high, in January 2021. In the 2022 bear market, it dropped 17.7% and didn't recover until February 2024. Its worst calendar year was 2022, at -10.2%. A retiree who needed cash in a year like that would still be cashing out shares at a loss. The fund launched in 2011, so it has no record from 2008.

Income is modest. The trailing yield was 1.84% as of October 27, 2026, paid twice a year. The SEC's standard example puts costs at $255 over 10 years on $10,000. Past results don't predict the future, and a plan should look at the whole portfolio, not one fund.

Matched by holdings overlap from the latest N-PORT reports.