Monthly UCITS notes · October 2026
The 60/40 two-step 🕺 and a fee-cut autumn
One portfolio under the microscope, five fund headlines, zero hot takes.
21 October 2026
Quick question: how many ETFs does a balanced portfolio actually need?
Plenty of people would guess five, ten, maybe a dozen. This month’s spotlight gets by with two. So let’s put it under the microscope, with charts, in three currencies. After that comes the fund news, so you can see what changed on the shelf.
Part 1 · Portfolio spotlight
🔬 The two-fund 60/40: one recipe, two ingredients
The Two-fund 60/40 is the “classic” balanced mix in its simplest form.
60% goes into one global all-world equity ETF: thousands of companies across developed and emerging markets. 40% goes into one global aggregate bond ETF: investment-grade government and corporate bonds from many countries, hedged to your base currency where a hedged class exists.
- 60% Global all-world equity
- 40% Global aggregate bonds
Target weights from the site's model portfolio definition. Bonds are hedged to the base currency where a hedged class exists in our list.
The idea is simple. Shares do the heavy lifting, and the bonds are meant to be the steadier half. The currency hedge stops exchange rates from hijacking that steadier half.
📈 The ride so far, in three currencies
The site builds these numbers from proxy ETFs: iShares MSCI ACWI for shares, plus a hedged global bond ETF in each currency. Month-end prices, monthly rebalancing, no trading costs or taxes. Same data, same method as on the portfolio page.
CAGR = compound annual growth rate. Volatility = annualised standard deviation of monthly returns. Max drawdown = largest peak-to-trough fall in month-end value. Worst year = worst full calendar year. Data: Yahoo Finance daily adjusted close prices via the open-source yfinance library, downloaded at build time. Only derived statistics are published. Last month-end used: 2026-09-30.
- USD → 19,108
- EUR → 18,284
- CHF → 15,354
Each line starts at 10,000 in its own base currency at the month-end before its window begins. Source: Lazy UCITS calculation. Yahoo Finance daily adjusted close prices via the open-source yfinance library, downloaded at build time. Method: Month-end prices, converted to the base currency with Yahoo FX month-end rates; portfolios rebalanced to target weights every month; no trading costs or taxes; ETF TERs are already reflected in ETF prices. Proxies: USD: ISAC.L + AGGU.L; EUR: ISAC.L + EUNA.DE; CHF: ISAC.L + GLAC.SW. Windows: USD Dec 2017–Sep 2026 (106 monthly returns), EUR Dec 2017–Sep 2026 (106 monthly returns), CHF May 2018–Sep 2026 (101 monthly returns). Past performance does not predict future returns.
Why do the lines differ? Same shares, but each base currency sees them through its own exchange rate, and each uses its own hedged bond class. The Swiss franc strengthened against the US dollar over this window (USD/CHF went from about 0.99 to 0.83 at Yahoo month-end rates), and that pulls the CHF line down. The CHF window also starts five months later. Same portfolio, different currency.
🎢 The bumpy bits
Growth charts flatter everyone. The underwater chart is the honest one: it shows how far the portfolio sat below its last high.
- USD (max −19.53%)
- EUR (max −13.09%)
- CHF (max −16.68%)
0% = at a new high. Computed from the same month-end series as the growth chart. Source: Lazy UCITS calculation. Yahoo Finance daily adjusted close prices via the open-source yfinance library, downloaded at build time. Method: Month-end prices, converted to the base currency with Yahoo FX month-end rates; portfolios rebalanced to target weights every month; no trading costs or taxes; ETF TERs are already reflected in ETF prices. Proxies: USD: ISAC.L + AGGU.L; EUR: ISAC.L + EUNA.DE; CHF: ISAC.L + GLAC.SW. Windows: USD Dec 2017–Sep 2026 (106 monthly returns), EUR Dec 2017–Sep 2026 (106 monthly returns), CHF May 2018–Sep 2026 (101 monthly returns). Past performance does not predict future returns.
The deepest dip ran from the end of 2021 into 2022, when shares and bonds fell together. That is the scenario a 60/40 is least equipped for. In USD it took until February 2024 to get back to the old high.
🧩 Which ETFs fill the two slots?
The site lists ETFs in a neutral order: lowest TER first, then bigger fund size, then longer track record. Here’s how it looked on 21 October 2026 with the default filters. First in line is not a recommendation.
| Slot | First few in our list |
|---|---|
| Equity (any base) | Vanguard FTSE All-World, 0.14% (Dist IE00B3RBWM25 / Acc IE00BK5BQT80) · Invesco FTSE All-World Acc, 0.15% (IE000716YHJ7) · then SPDR, iShares, UBS |
| Bonds, EUR-hedged | Vanguard Global Aggregate Bond EUR Hedged, 0.08% (Acc IE00BG47KH54 “VAGF” / Dist IE00BG47KB92 “VAGE”) · iShares Core Global Aggregate Bond EUR Hedged Acc, 0.10% (IE00BDBRDM35) |
| Bonds, CHF-hedged | SPDR Bloomberg Global Aggregate Bond CHF Hedged Acc, 0.10% (IE00BF1QPK61, “GLAC” on SIX). Only one option in our list. |
🇪🇺 EUR angle: the equity side trades on Xetra in EUR (VWCE acc / VGWL dist). 🇨🇭 CHF angle: both Vanguard All-World classes trade on SIX in CHF (VWRA acc / VWRL dist). With only one CHF-hedged bond ETF in our list, there’s less choice on cost and share class.
Play with currency, share class, hedging and issuer in the ETF section of the portfolio page.
⚖️ Trade-offs, in plain English
- Acc vs dist. Accumulating classes reinvest income for you. Distributing classes pay it out. Tax treatment differs by country, so local rules matter.
- Hedged vs unhedged bonds. Hedging strips out most currency swings from the bond half, for a small hedging cost. Unhedged global bonds can move with exchange rates as much as with interest rates. (No SGD-hedged class in our list, so the site’s SGD figures include USD/SGD moves.)
- Rebalancing. The stats assume monthly rebalancing. Plenty of people do it yearly, or when a weight drifts about 5 points, or by steering new money to the lagging fund. Every trade can cost money and, in some countries, tax.
- Two funds vs more vs one. The Three-fund 60/40 splits shares into developed and emerging markets. One-fund multi-asset options rebalance for you, at a different cost.
Part 2 · Fund news
🗞️ What’s new on the shelf
Launches, listings and fee changes from roughly the last three months that touch the site’s building blocks. Facts are as of 21 October 2026, each with sources. These are worth knowing about and can go into a comparison, nothing more.
- Before fee cut
- After fee cut
- New fund / class / listing
- First fund in our list for that building block
Fees from the issuer sources cited in each card below. Blue comparison bars: the first fund in the site's neutral order (lowest TER, then size) for the same building block, from our ETF list on the build date (All-world equity: Amundi Prime All Country World UCITS ETF Dist; Small cap: Amundi MSCI World Small Cap ESG Broad Transition UCITS ETF Acc; Developed world: Invesco MSCI World UCITS ETF Acc). Fees are only one cost; tracking difference, spreads and taxes also matter. A lower fee does not guarantee better results.
1Vanguard FTSE All-World UCITS ETF
Vanguard · All-world equity
- Accumulating
- Distributing
- Unhedged
- Ireland
- Physical
- In our ETF list
- ISIN (Acc)
IE00BK5BQT80- ISIN (Dist)
IE00B3RBWM25- Effective
- 28 July 2026 (notice 21 July 2026)
The site's biggest all-world fund got cheaper: 0.19% → 0.14% for the unhedged classes, and 0.22% → 0.17% for hedged classes. Our ETF list already uses 0.14%.
Sources: Vanguard Funds plc notice, 21 Jul 2026 · Vanguard Switzerland · Vanguard UK product page
2Vanguard FTSE Global All-Cap UCITS ETF
Vanguard · All-world equity (adds small caps)
- Accumulating
- Distributing
- Unhedged
- Ireland
- Physical
- Not in our list yet
- ISIN (Acc)
IE000VAHT5T0- ISIN (Dist)
IE000CVUM3N6- Launched
- 18 Aug 2026 (listed 20 Aug 2026)
- Example lines
- VALU (LSE, USD), VALL (LSE, GBP)
All-world, but with small caps too: it tracks the FTSE Global All Cap Index (large, mid and small caps, developed + emerging) using sampled physical replication. Worth knowing about when comparing all-world options.
Sources: Vanguard UK product page · Deutsche Börse, 25 Aug 2026
3Vanguard FTSE Global Small-Cap UCITS ETF
Vanguard · Small cap (includes emerging markets)
- Accumulating
- Distributing
- Unhedged
- Ireland
- Physical
- Not in our list yet
- ISIN (Acc)
IE0007TPRF31- ISIN (Dist)
IE000F8RXD33- Launched
- 18 Aug 2026 (listed 20 Aug 2026)
Tracks the FTSE Global Small Cap Index, roughly the smallest 10% of the global market. Heads-up: it includes emerging markets, while the site's small-cap building block is developed-world small caps. So it is a cousin, not a twin.
Sources: Vanguard UK product page · Deutsche Börse, 25 Aug 2026
4UBS MSCI World Small Cap UCITS ETF
UBS · Developed-world small cap
- Accumulating
- Unhedged
- Ireland
- Physical (optimised)
- Not in our list yet
- ISIN (USD acc)
IE000AZ2HZ31- Launched
- 3 June 2026
- LSE listing
- 1 Sept 2026
Not brand new, but it gained a London Stock Exchange line on 1 September, which matters for UK- and USD-based investors. Tracks the MSCI World Small Cap Index, so it lines up with the site's small-cap building block.
Sources: UBS factsheet, 30 Jun 2026 (German) · ETFWorld UK, 1 Sep 2026
5Invesco MSCI World UCITS ETF Dist
Invesco · Developed-world equity
- Distributing
- Unhedged
- Ireland
- Synthetic
- Not in our list yet
- ISIN (Dist)
IE000K8VMPE9- Launched
- 16 Sept 2026
- Lines
- MWDD on Xetra (EUR), SIX (CHF), LSE (USD)
A new quarterly-distributing class of Invesco's MSCI World ETF at 0.05%. It is swap-based (synthetic), unlike most of the physical funds on this site, which is a different set of trade-offs rather than better or worse.
Sources: Deutsche Börse, 21 Sep 2026 · justETF profile
That’s a wrap for October! 👋 All model portfolios are side by side on the home page, and every fund is on the ETF list. See you next month.
Disclaimer. Information only, not investment, tax or legal advice, and not a personal recommendation. No content has been assessed against your personal circumstances. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future results; values can fall as well as rise and you may get back less than you invest. Currency movements can increase or reduce returns. Fund data may be out of date or contain errors, so always read the issuer's KID and prospectus. Not every ETF is available in every country. Not directed at US persons. Full disclaimer.