--- title: "Just how top-heavy are global equity indices today?" description: "A comparison of MSCI World and MSCI Emerging Markets Index country weightings, 2006–2026." type: "NewsArticle" publisher: "Daily Maverick" site: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za" section: "Sponsored Content" author: "Laurium Capital" author_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/author/laurium-capital/" canonical_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2026-08-26-just-how-top-heavy-are-global-equity-indices-today/" published: "2026-08-26T00:30:00" updated: "2026-08-26T06:50:45" lang: "en-ZA" word_count: 964 --- # Just how top-heavy are global equity indices today? > A comparison of MSCI World and MSCI Emerging Markets Index country weightings, 2006–2026. By Laurium Capital · Published 26 August 2026, 02:30 SAST · Updated 26 August 2026, 08:50 SAST ## Content Much has been written about the concentration of the S&P500 and the small number of stocks that comprise a significant amount of the value of the index and drive performance. The top 10 stocks in the S&P now constitute nearly 40% of the index weight and 9 of those top 10 are stocks that are driven by the Artificial Intelligence theme. Investors seeking to avoid this concentration often seek diversity in a broader based index, some of the more popular indices are the MSCI World and the MSCI Emerging Markets. There is less commentary on these broader based indices such as the MSCI World and the MSCI Emerging Market Index. Both flagship MSCI indices which are tracked by a large number and value of passive ETFS have become noticeably more concentrated in their largest constituent countries over the past two decades. The pattern of concentration, and the risk it implies for investors looks similar but has different context in developed versus emerging markets. The MSCI World is dominated by a single country, the United States, whose share has climbed from under half the index in 2006 to over 70% today. MSCI Emerging Markets Index shows no single dominant country, but its top tier has consolidated around a small group of large Asian economies, with the largest single-country weight roughly doubling over the same period. ### **MSCI World: a developed-market index that is really a US index** In January 2006, the US accounted for 48.6% of MSCI World, with Japan (11.3%) and the UK (11.4%) providing meaningful diversification. By August 2026, the US weight had risen to 70.6%, while Japan had fallen to 5.7% and the UK to 3.5%. The top 5 countries now account for 86% of the index, up from 79.4% two decades ago, and the top 10 countries share sits at 94.6%. The Herfindahl-Hirschman Index (HHI) which is a standard concentration metric, often used by competition regulators is calculated by summing the squared country weights score for MSCI World has risen from 2,700 in 2005 to just over 5,100 in 2026, an increase of about 89%. On conventional thresholds, MSCI World has moved from an already highly concentrated starting point to a level of single-country dominance rarely seen in a broad global benchmark. ![Image](https://cdn.dailymaverick.co.za/i/bLz53wn2-lTXKFnmUlGWYhW0fZg=/200x100/smart/filters:strip_exif\(\)/file/attachments/2996/Picture111_103731.png) ### **MSCI Emerging Markets Index: industry concentration** MSCI Emerging Markets Index tells a more nuanced story. No single country has held anywhere close to a majority share: the largest country weight has ranged between roughly 15% and 30% over the last 20 years, with leadership rotating between Korea, Brazil, China and, most recently, Taiwan (27% as of 25 August 2026, following the semi-conductor technology - driven re-ratings which has driven the MSCI Taiwan index up 60% this year). The HHI for MSCI Emerging Markets Index has risen from 980 in 2005 to 1,610 today – a 64% increase, but starting from, and still ending in, the unconcentrated zone on the same HHI scale. What has changed is the depth of the leadership group: the top 5 countries’ combined share has grown from 62% to nearly 80%, and the top 10 share now captures around 91% of the index, leaving a shrinking long tail of smaller emerging economies with token index representation. Sadly, over the same time, the South African index has shrunk from an 8.9% weigh at the start of 2006 to a 2.8% on 25 August 2026, squeezed out by a weaker domestic economy and strong growth in the Asian markets over that time. ![Image](https://cdn.dailymaverick.co.za/i/YetZVLxfVVhFMoOBoHKl5gjdIJI=/200x100/smart/filters:strip_exif\(\)/file/attachments/2996/Picture1_369524.png) The direction of travel is the same in both indices; concentration has risen steadily, with a further step-up visible since around 2020–2021. MSCI World’s concentration is a single-country story driven almost entirely by the relative strength of large-cap US equities, and increasingly mega-cap technology names within them, versus the rest of the developed world. MSCI Emerging Markets Index’s concentration is a leadership-group story: the composition of the top ranks has rotated over time, but the combined weight of whichever countries sit at the top has steadily increased at the expense of smaller markets. In absolute terms, MSCI World remains roughly three times as concentrated as MSCI Emerging Markets Index on our HHI measure, and that gap has widened slightly over the period. What is striking in the MSCI Emerging Market Index is the big gain that has taken place in the Tech Hardware and Semiconductor sector, which was around 15% of the index 20 years ago is now just under 40% of the index. ![Image](https://cdn.dailymaverick.co.za/i/wXLEusU1flyar0fzP-8l9O08VXM=/200x100/smart/filters:strip_exif\(\)/file/attachments/2996/Picture2_234195.png) ### **What this means for investors** A passive allocation to MSCI World today is, in practice, a heavily US-weighted allocation with limited true geographic diversification, and the diversification benefit of holding non-US developed markets alongside it has eroded materially since 2006. An allocation to MSCI Emerging Markets Index still offers genuine multi-country exposure, but investors should be aware that returns are now driven overwhelmingly by a handful of large Asian markets, which are in turn driven by a concentrated set of semi-conductor names that have catapulted the MSCI Korean index up 87% this year and the MSCI Taiwan index up 60% rather than a broad emerging-market basket. At times like these when concentration is at these levels, investors seeking genuine geographic diversification may wish to consider either deliberate country or regional tilts or use the services of an active manager that does not need to track the index rather than relying on market-cap weighted benchmarks alone to deliver it. **DM** *Author: Brian Thomas, Laurium Capital* *For information on Laurium’s fund offering, please contact*[*ir@lauriumcapital.com*](mailto:ir@lauriumcapital.com)*or visit*[*Laurium Capital*](http://www.lauriumcapital.com)*.* *Laurium Capital is an authorised financial services provider (FSP 34142).* *This article is published for information purposes and does not constitute financial advice. Past performance is not necessarily a guide to future performance. Investors should consider their individual circumstances and seek appropriate professional advice.*