International ETFs: global, ex-US, developed, emerging

The geography vocabulary — and why 'global' and 'international' are not synonyms.

The labels have specific meanings. Global (or 'world') funds can include U.S. stocks — often 60%+ of the weight. International (or 'ex-US') funds exclude the U.S. entirely. Developed-markets funds hold rich, liquid markets (Japan, UK, Europe, Australia); emerging-markets funds hold faster-growing but riskier markets (China, India, Taiwan, Brazil); frontier funds go a step further out.

Classification differs by index provider — South Korea is developed to FTSE but emerging to MSCI — so two 'emerging markets' funds can differ meaningfully. This site classifies funds from their actual reported country weights and shows the weights on each fund page.

Currency is the second dimension: an unhedged international fund's return = local market return + currency moves; hedged share classes strip the currency effect for a small cost. Both choices are legitimate — they are just different exposures.