Our guide to the cheapest ways to access global markets, including the UK, US and emerging markets.
13th January 2026
by Dave Baxter from interactive investor
One of the biggest investing trends over the past decade has been the rise of passive funds, either via exchange-traded funds (ETFs) or open-ended index funds.
In fact 27 of the 50 most-bought funds in the third quarter of 2025 were passive, with investors drawn to strong returns and low fees.
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Below, we examine some of the ways to invest passively in global markets via interactive investor. The figures shown are the yearly ongoing charges figure, which does not include transaction costs (the fees incurred by the tracker fund when it buys and sells holdings).
United Kingdom
The FTSE 100 is one of the most recognisable indices in the world. As a result, investors can find several very cheap ETFs tracking the index. For instance, both iShares Core FTSE 100 ETF GBP Dist
charge just 0.07% a year.
However, as cheap as these ETFs are, they are not actually the cheapest way to access the UK market with an ETF. The Amundi UK Equity All Cap ETF
charges just 0.04%, making it one of the cheapest ETFs available to UK investors.
LCUK does not track the FTSE 100, but the Morningstar UK Index, which is slightly different. Whereas the FTSE 100 is the largest 100 companies listed in the UK, the Morningstar index has more than 200 constituents, giving it both large- and mid-cap exposure.
However, the two indices are not that different in practice. Both indices have similar top 10 weightings, and the sheer size of the largest holdings in the Morningstar index crowd out its additional smaller holdings.
The second-cheapest ETF is the L&G UK Equity ETF
with a charge of just 0.05%.
For non-large cap UK exposure, the cheapest in terms of fees is Amundi Prime UK Mid & Small Cap ETF DR D
which costs 0.05%.
Open-ended passive funds can also be very competitive. Tracking the 600 shares in the FTSE All-Share, iShares UK Equity Index costs just 0.05% and Fidelity Index UK costs 0.6%.
Vanguard’s FTSE 100 Index Unit Trust and FTSE UK All-Share Index Unit trust also both cost 0.06%.
United States
The cheapest way to gain passive exposure to US stocks is via SPDR S&P 500 ETF USD Acc GBP SPXL
.Managed by State Street, it costs just 0.03% and was launched in November 2023.
The next cheapest ETFs for the US market are the Invesco MSCI USA ETF
with both charging just 0.05%. These are the two cheapest ways to gain exposure to either the S&P 500 or the MSCI USA Index.
Three open-ended funds also stand out for value: iShares US Equity Index (costing 0.05% to track the FTSE USA Index which has around 500 holdings in it), Fidelity Index US (0.06% to track the S&P 500) and HSBC American Index (0.06% to also track the S&P 500).
As has often been noted, there can be slight differences between indices. The S&P 500 has strict and unique inclusion requirements compared to other indices, with stocks required to be profitable over a certain period of time. The index also has a selection committee, which makes discretionary judgements about inclusion.
The popular Vanguard S&P 500 UCITS ETF GBP VUSA
and iShares Core S&P 500 ETF USD Acc GBP CSP1
charge 0.07%.
Europe
Passive exposure to Europe is not straightforward, as there is not singular definition of what “Europe” actually is.
Two of the cheapest ways to gain European exposure are via the Invesco EURO STOXX 50 ETF GBP SX5S
or the HSBC EURO STOXX 50 ETF GBP H50E
Both charge just 0.05%. However, it is worth noting that Invesco’s transaction costs are higher, with the latest data showing this fee added up to 0.35% versus 0.05% for the HSBC tracker.
These two ETFs will give you exposure to the EURO STOXX 50 index. It looks to reflect “the performance of supersector leaders across the eurozone”.
As a result, the index is dominated by France and Germany. Also accounting for a reasonable share are the Netherlands, Italy and Spain.
Just as cheap is the Amundi IS Prime Europe ETF DR GBP PRIE
This ETF charges 0.07% tracks the Solactive GBS Developed Markets Europe Large & Mid Cap Europe Index for 0.05%.
Another option is Amundi Core Stoxx Eurp 600 ETF Acc GBP MEUD
This ETF charges 0.07% and tracks the STOXX EUROPE 600 index. Not only is this index larger than the EURO STOXX 50, it is also not restricted to just eurozone markets. As a result, it has around 23% exposure to the UK and 14% to Switzerland.
Cheap open-ended options include HSBC European Index (0.06% to track the FTSE Developed Europe ex UK index) and iShares Continental European Equity Index (0.05% to track the FTSE World Europe ex UK Index). The HSBC fund has around 400 holdings, while the iShares fund has around 550.
Global
For those seeking global exposure, an especially cheap option is the UBS Core MSCI World ETF USD acc GBP WRDA
which charges 0.06%. It tracks the widely followed MSCI World index.
Another option is the L&G Global Equity ETF LGGL
which charges 0.1%. This ETF tracks the Solactive Core Developed Markets Large and Mid Cap Index.
Slightly more expensive is the SPDR MSCI World ETF GBP SWLD
It tracks the MSCI World Index, composed of around 1,300 companies across developed markets, for 0.12%.
Both are cheaper than the iShares Core MSCI World ETF USD Acc GBP SWDA
which tracks the same index for a 0.2% fee. Despite a higher fee, this ETF is more popular with interactive investor customers, often appearing in our monthly top 10 most-bought ETF rankings.
The Amundi MSCI World V ETF Acc GBP (LSE:LCWL) also uses this index and also costs just 0.12%. Another option is the Vanguard FTSE Dev World ETF $Dis GBP VEVE
This ETF also charges 0.12% and tracks the very similar FTSE Developed World Index.
Fidelity Index World also costs 0.12% to track the MSCI World index. This is an open-ended fund, not an ETF.
Open-ended L&G International Index Trust and L&G Global Equity Index track the FTSE World ex UK and FTSE World index for just 0.13% in fees. They both own around 2,500 developed-world shares, with the former excluding UK shares.
For those who want their global exposure to also include emerging markets, the funds can be slightly more expensive. For example, there is the iShares MSCI ACWI ETF USD Acc GBP (LSE:SSAC), which charges 0.2%. Alternatively, the Vanguard FTSE All-World ETF USD Acc GBP (LSE:VWRP) charges a slightly lower 0.19%.
However, HSBC FTSE All World Index costs just 0.13% and does include more than 7% in China, Taiwan and India.
Emerging markets
Generally, it is more expensive to track emerging market as the underlying indices are less-frequently traded and composed of less-liquid stocks.
However, that is not to say exposure cannot be achieved at a reasonable price. The Amundi MSCI Emerging Markets II ETF Dist GBP (LSE:E127) is the cheapest, with an ongoing charge of 0.14%. Next there is the HSBC MSCI Emerg Mkts ETF GBP (LSE:HMEF), and theUBS Core MSCI EM ETF USD dis GBP (LSE:UB32), both of which charge 0.15%. All track the MSCI Emerging Market index, composed of around 1,400 large- and mid-cap stocks.
For the same ongoing charge, investors can also access emerging market shares without China. The Amundi MSCI Emerging Market Ex China ETF (LSE:EMXC) charges 0.15%.
There is also the iShares Core MSCI EM IMI ETF USD Acc GBP (LSE:EMIM), which charges 0.18%. It tracks the MSCI Emerging Markets Investable Market Index. In contrast to the other index, this one also includes small-cap stocks, giving it just over 3,000 constituents. There is also an ESG-screened version of this ETF for the same fee; the iShares MSCI EM IMI ESG Scrn ETF USD Acc GBP (LSE:SEGM)
Two competitively priced open-ended funds are iShares Emerging Markets Equity Index (0.2% fee) and Fidelity Index Emerging Markets (0.20% fee). They track the FTSE Emerging Index and MSCI Emerging Market Index, owning roughly 2,000 and 1,150 shares respectively.
China
As noted, China dominates the emerging market index. However, for those who specifically want China exposure, there are several competitively priced ETFs.
The cheapest is the Franklin FTSE China UCITS ETF (LSE:FRCH) with an ongoing charge of 0.19%. The ETF tracks the FTSE China 30/18 Capped Index. This index is composed of around 1,000 Chinese companies. The largest positions are Tencent Holdings Ltd (SEHK:700) (12%) and Alibaba Group Holding Ltd ADR (NYSE:BABA) (8.5%).
The second-cheapest China-focused ETF is a whole nine basis points more expensive, with the HSBC MSCI China ETF GBP (LSE:HMCH) charging 0.28%.
Asia-Pacific
For the broader Asia-Pacific region, the cheapest option is the L&G Asia Pacific ex Japan Equity ETF GBP (LSE:LGAG), which has a charge of 0.10%. This ETF tracks the Solactive Core Developed Markets Pacific ex Japan Large & Mid Cap Index. Its biggest weighting is Australia, accounting for just over 60%, followed by Hong Kong at about 14%.
The next cheapest is the Vanguard FTSE Dev AsiaPac exJpnETFUSDAcc GBP (LSE:VDPG), for 0.15%. This tracks a slightly different index, the FTSE Developed Asia Pacific ex Japan index. Australia is still the biggest holding, accounting for around 41%. This is followed by Korean equities, at around 35%.
An open-ended alternative is iShares Pacific ex Japan Equity Index, at 0.11% in fees, as well as Fidelity Index Pacific ex Japan, at 0.13%. They track FTSE and MSCI indices, owning roughly 600 and 100 shares respectively.
Japan
Active funds are often viewed by investors as a more favourable route for Japan exposure. However, Japan is one of the most efficient markets in the world, so investors might want to consider passive exposure. If they do, there are several reasonably priced options.
The cheapest is the iShares Japan Equity Index, at 0.08% in fees to track the FTSE Japan Index. This index currently contains almost 500 shares, ranked by their market capitalisation.
It’s followed by Xtrackers Nikkei 225 ETF (LSE:XDJP), which charges just 0.09%, and tracks the famous Nikkei 225. This index is price-weighted, not market-capitalisation weighted. This means that the trading price of a stock determines how much of the index it makes up.
According to most investors, this method is inferior to a market-capitalisation weighting, in which the proportion that each company represents in the index is the result of its share price multiplied by the number of shares in circulation.
For just one basis point more, investors can buy a market-cap weighted ETF, the L&G Japan Equity ETF GBP (LSE:LGJG). This ETF charges 0.10% to track the Solactive Core Japan Large & Mid Cap Index, which is supposed to give exposure to large- and mid-cap publicly traded Japanese companies, with some ESG screening.
There is also the Amundi MSCI Japan ETF GBP (LSE:LCJP), which tracks the MSCI Japan index for 0.12%, as well as the open-ended HSBC Japan Index, which tracks the FTSE Japan index for 0.14% in annual fees.
One or two positions in your Snowball could be pair traded with a higher yielder.
Whilst opening a new position at the tail end of a bull market is high risk, those with a longer term frame for investing could re-invest some of their earned dividends because as long as you can choose when to sell, you will not lose any of your hard earned, although it could be multi years. Not a problem if you add when Mr. Market gives you the chance.
The blog Snowball may in future buy a World ETF with earned dividends but only after the market falls.
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