Developed Markets Indexes
Developed markets are a cornerstone of global investing. They have more advanced economies and more mature capital markets. As investors move away from their home markets, developed markets potentially provide greater stability, transparency and liquidity, serving as an ideal opportunity set for constructing diversified portfolios.
Target benefitsMeasuring established capital markets
Harness evolving opportunity set
Indexes seek to reflect changing markets across regions, market-cap segments, sectors and styles.
Construct diversified global portfolios
Use to measure performance of equity markets across developed market countries.
Customize with ease
Select from a range of global, regional, country, sector and style indexes to better capture your investment strategy.
MSCI World IndexWidely recognized index, launched in 1986, measuring performance of equity markets across developed market countries
23
Countries
90%
Weight in MSCI ACWI Index
1,325
Constituents1
Evolution of regional weights within MSCI World
While the country composition of the MSCI World Index has remained relatively stable over time, the regional and country weights have evolved with global market dynamics. Japan held a dominant position in the late 1980s, Europe gained prominence in the early 2000s, and the U.S. — currently representing 75% of the index — now holds the largest share.
Developed Markets IndexesView performance details, fact sheets and more
How are global equity mandates evolving?
Our research suggests that global equity mandates, often complemented by dedicated emerging market and small-cap specialist mandates, may emerge as the “new classic” structure for implementing global equity allocations.2 Investors may consider active and passive management as complementary strategies across these distinct equity segments.
Investors seeking greater home-market exposure can manage separate domestic portfolios alongside the global equity structure or explore a core-satellite structure where the active-passive split extends to each equity market segment to implement the global equity allocation.
Developed Markets index resources
Global Investable Market Indexes methodology
Take a deeper dive into our thinking behind our Developed Markets Indexes.
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Related to Developed Markets Indexes
Emerging Markets Indexes
Explore indexes built with the aim of helping you measure return in rapidly growing economies around the world.
1 As of June 2025
2 https://www.msci.com/documents/10199/4f05c23b-26b6-b3bd-e075-8ba20e763c2c