Check whether two ETFs are genuinely different or just feel different

Research snapshot

Quick pairs to test

Overlap result

How the overlap score works

The checker does not compare the individual companies each fund holds. It compares each fund's approximate mix by region (US, UK, other developed markets, emerging markets, global bonds and UK gilts) and by building block (equity, bonds and options overlay), then turns the gap between the two funds into a score out of 100.

It adds up the percentage-point differences across the six regions, then adds 15% of the difference in equity weight, 15% of the difference in bond weight and 20% of the difference in overlay weight. That total is halved and taken away from 100. A score of 80 or more is labelled very high overlap, 60 to 79 high, 40 to 59 moderate and below 40 low. Choosing the same fund twice always scores 100.

Worked example: VWRP vs SWDA, the default pair

The tool's data gives VWRP 62% US, 3% UK, 25% other developed and 10% emerging markets, and SWDA 73% US, 3% UK, 24% other developed and 0% emerging markets. The regional differences add up to 22 points. Both are 100% equity with no overlay, so nothing is added. Half of 22 is 11, giving a score of 89: very high overlap. Holding both mostly doubles up on the same developed-market shares; the real difference is the emerging-markets slice.

Switch to the VHYL vs WINC pair and the regional differences add up to 58 points. WINC is marked as an overlay fund and VHYL is not, which adds 20 points (20% of 100). The score is 100 minus half of 78, or 61: high overlap, even though one is a dividend fund and the other an options-based income fund.

These figures come from the same data the tool uses, and the page recalculates them from that data when it loads, so they match what the tool shows for the two quick pairs. The US and UK weights in the data are the providers' published country weights, rounded when the data was last updated on 25 September 2026 (Vanguard's figures for VWRP and VHYL are as at 31 August 2026). Weights drift: by 1 October 2026 iShares showed SWDA at 72.96% US and 3.32% UK, and WINC at 69.73% US and 1.85% UK (checked 3 October 2026), close to the rounded figures above. How the rest splits between other developed and emerging markets is the site's rounded estimate.

Sources

• iShares Core MSCI World UCITS ETF (SWDA): country weights as of 1 October 2026, checked 3 October 2026.
• iShares World Equity High Income Active UCITS ETF (WINC): country weights as of 1 October 2026, checked 3 October 2026.
• Vanguard FTSE All-World UCITS ETF (VWRP) and Vanguard FTSE All-World High Dividend Yield UCITS ETF (VHYL): country weights at 31 August 2026, as recorded in the site's fund data on 25 September 2026.
• FCA InvestSmart: the regulator's guide to investing and diversification, checked 3 October 2026.

Limits of the result

• The regional weights are rounded estimates held in the site's ETF data, not live holdings from the issuer, and real weights drift as markets move. Funds from the wider catalogue use a standard split for their region.
• Two funds with the same regional weights score 100 even if they hold different companies, so two different US equity funds can look identical.
• Sector, style, currency hedging and cost are not part of the score. The table shown with the result lists OCF, yield and risk proxies separately.
• A high score is a prompt to compare the two factsheets, not a verdict on either fund, and the tool knows nothing about the rest of a portfolio or the account it sits in.