Understanding ETF abbreviations: 1C, UCITS, MSCI & Co. explained simply

ETF names often appear as confusing combinations of abbreviations with no clear logic. But they actually follow fixed patterns and contain important information for your ETF selection.  

In this article, you will learn how to decipher ETF abbreviations and navigate safely through the jungle of terms using specific examples.

Shares + ETF = Share ETF = Ingenious investment

Before we get into the topic of understanding ETF abbreviations, we want to remind you what we think makes ETFs so unique. If you’d like to learn more, we’ve put together this series of articles on investing with ETFs.

The combination of the asset class “equities” with the investment vehicle “ETF” combines the best of both worlds. A share is a tangible asset backed by a real company. A shareholder therefore participates in the success of such a company, whether in the form of price changes, profit distributions (dividends) or both. A great thing!

The only problem is that companies come and go, more quickly and more often than we generally assume. Just think of the once proud and internationally successful Swiss brands such as Swissair or Credit Suisse.

This means that if you invest in individual stocks, there is always the risk of a total loss. And let’s not even talk about the emotional turmoil associated with this.

This is not the case with an equity ETF, which is ideally broadly diversified across its own national borders. Of course, even in an equity ETF, companies are constantly disappearing and new ones are being added. You just don’t notice it because you are not taking on any cluster risk.

Even if Apple, currently the largest company by market capitalization, were to turn out the lights tomorrow, this would only result in a one-off, marginal correction of a few percent on your global equity portfolio.

As you can see, we, Toni and Stefan, are really enthusiastic about ETFs. But not just from a theoretical point of view, but also with a high “skin-in-the-game” factor: we have invested the lion’s share of our assets, including pillar 3a, in broadly diversified equity ETFs.

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ETF abbreviations: What does the ETF name say?

No matter which ETF you choose, you will always find these four “basic ingredients”:

• Providers: e.g. Vanguard, iShares, UBS ETF, Xtrackers
• Index: e.g. FTSE All-World, MSCI World, S&P 500, Russell 2000, SMI, DAX
• Product type: ETF, ETC, ETN
• Gewinnverteilung: 
  • Distributing: e.g. A-dis, Distributing, (Dist), 1D, (D)
  • Accumulating: e.g. A-acc, Accumulating, (Acc), 1C, (C)

Depending on the product and provider, the ETF name may also contain other features:

• Regulatory standard: UCITS
• Fund currency: e.g. USD, EUR, CHF
• Fund domicile: e.g. “IR” for Ireland
• replication method:
  • Physical: e.g. “DR” for direct replication
  • Synthetic: e.g. “Swap”
• Provider-specific marketing terms: e.g. “Core”, “Edge”, “Prime”

For a better understanding, we have broken down four well-known ETF names from different providers into their components below. These are the official ETF names that are not only used by the respective providers, but also by established ETF platforms such as justETF or TrackingDifferences.

Real ETF names broken down into their components

Provider	Fund- domicile	Marketing	Index	Regulat. Standard	Product- type	Fund- currency	Profit- distribution
Vanguard			FTSE All-World	UCITS	ETF	(USD)	Distributing
Xtrackers			MSCI World	UCITS	ETF		1C
iShares		Core	MSCI EM IMI	UCITS	ETF		(Acc)
UBS ETF	(CH)		SMI			(CHF)	a-dis

Legend: The ETF name “Vanguard FTSE All-World UCITS ETF (USD) Distributing” is made up of the components “Provider”, “Index”, “Regulatory Standard”, “Fund Currency” and “Profit Distribution”.

In the iShares ETF, the index abbreviations “EM” stand for Emerging Markets and “IMI” for Investable Market Index, which also includes small, investable companies, i.e. so-called small caps.

In the case of the UBS product, it was not necessary to mention the product type (again) because this information is already clear from the provider name “UBS ETF”. As our home index “SMI” only contains 20 stocks and is therefore poorly diversified, it does not comply with the UCITS Directive.

Now you have already gotten a taste of the most important ETF components and the corresponding ETF abbreviations. We will go into more detail in the following chapters.

ETF component “Provider”

At the beginning of the ETF name is the ETF provider, also known as the issuer. This is important information for many investors, as the various fund companies have built up a special reputation and a unique market position over many years.

The global market leader iShares, the ETF division of the US giant Blackrock, is characterized by an extremely broad range of ETFs, for example, while its first rival Vanguard, also from the US, stands out above all with very low prices and local trading currency. UBS ETF, the ETF division of UBS, scores with a wealth of sustainable ETFs, which are also often offered in local currency.

Other well-known fund companies include the German Xtrackers, the US SPDR from State Street Global Advisors, the British HSBC and the French Amundi.

ETF component “Index”

In addition to the ETF provider, there is a second, independent player that is at least as important: the index provider. The most important are the two US heavyweights MSCI (Morgan Stanley Capital International) and S&P Global Ratings as well as the British FTSE Russell. The latter is now a subsidiary of the London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) following the merger of the Financial Times Stock Exchange Group (FTSE Group) with Russell Investments in 2015.

There are also numerous country-specific benchmark indices such as the SMI (CH), DAX (D), CAC 40 (F) and Nikkei 225 (JP).

An index not only provides you with information about the geographical focus of the ETF, but also tells you whether it is sustainable (e.g. “ESG”, “SRI”; more on this topic: “Green stocks: 40 ETFs compared” ), theme-based (e.g. real estate, robotics, clean energy) or factor-based (e.g. small caps, value, momentum; more on this topic: “Is factor investing worthwhile? The best 5 factor premiums in the yield check”).

Index supplements “ex”, “leveraged”, “capped”, “TRN”

There are other index supplements that may be included in the ETF name:

ex: The abbreviation “ex” indicates that certain companies, sectors or countries have been excluded from the index.

Example ETF: UBS ETF (LU) MSCI Pacific (ex Japan) UCITS ETF (USD) A-dis

Leveraged: These are leveraged ETFs that aim to replicate the underlying strategy index as closely as possible. The multiplier, e.g. “2x”, is often also mentioned in the ETF name, as well as the interval at which the multiplier comes into effect, e.g. “Daily”. Such ETFs offer high potential returns with high risks. You can find out more about this topic here: “Leveraged ETFs: dream returns of over 100% or speculative bet with total risk of loss?”

Example ETF: Amundi EURO STOXX 50 Daily (2x) Leveraged UCITS ETF Acc

“Inverse”: For speculators who like to play with fire or bet on falling prices in the short term, choose a so-called short ETF with the index suffix “Inverse”. These ETFs behave in the opposite direction to the market trend, e.g. with the factor “-2x”.

Example ETF: Amundi SMI Daily (-2x) Inverse UCITS ETF Acc

Capped: This term generally refers to an upper limit for the companies represented in the index. It specifies the maximum weighting of an individual company in the index, e.g. “5% capped”. UBS offers many such capped ETFs, in particular to minimize the cluster risk of niche ETFs and thus become UCITS-compliant. Today, however, the term “capped” is rarely used in the ETF name, but is usually found in the small print of the factsheet.

Example ETF: BNP Paribas Easy MSCI Europe Small Caps SRI S-Series PAB 5% Capped UCITS ETF

TRN: This abbreviation stands for an index which, in addition to price changes, also takes distributions into account, but less withholding tax (i.e. net or “N” or “net”). Most ETFs are measured against such a reference index, even if this is often only expressed in the small print of the ETF description. Any deviations are reflected in the tracking error and the tracking difference.

The following example shows that index information in the ETF name is often very abbreviated. You should therefore also consult the corresponding factsheets.

ETF name with abbreviated index information (highlighted):

UBS ETF (LU) MSCI World Socially Responsible UCITS ETF (USD) A-dis

Full index designation according to the factsheets of MSCI and UBS:

“MSCI World SRI Low Carbon Select 5% Issuer Capped Total Return Net” (SRI = Social Responsible Index)

MSCI World: Popular, but misleading

Probably the best-known index is the MSCI World. It comprises around 1,400 companies worldwide. Worldwide? Not quite, because its name is somewhat misleading. It only covers the “developed world”, but not the emerging markets. If you want to be truly globally invested – as a supplement to the MSCI World – you also need an ETF that tracks the MSCI Emerging Markets.

It is important that you remain loyal to the index provider with this combo. For example, if you combine an MSCI World ETF with a FTSE Emerging ETF, you will be doubly invested in some countries while missing out on others. This is because the two index providers, MSCI and FTSE Russell, define the markets differently.

For example, FTSE Russell classifies South Korea as a developed market, while MSCI classifies it as an emerging market. We have highlighted the different country allocations in the table below.

MSCI vs. FTSE

So when choosing an index, opt for either MSCI or FTSE. Incidentally, most ETF providers rely primarily on MSCI indices. Not so the extremely attractively priced US pioneer Vanguard, which relies primarily on indices from the FTSE family.

ETF component “Product type”

The abbreviation ETF is of course also an integral part of the product name. It stands for Exchange Traded Fund, i.e. an exchange-traded fund. This product type differs significantly from ETC (Exchange Traded Commodity) and ETN (Exchange Traded Notes), which relate to commodities and cryptocurrencies respectively. They therefore cover a niche and offer you less investor protection. Such products are not UCITS-compliant because, among other things, they are not considered special assets and are not subject to diversification regulations.

ETP (Exchange Traded Product) is the umbrella term for ETF, ETC and ETN, but is not used for ETF securities.

ETF component “Profit distribution”

When indicating whether the ETF is an accumulating (i.e. dividends are not distributed to you but automatically reinvested in the ETF) or distributing ETF, the abbreviations can differ greatly from provider to provider, as the following comparison shows:

Provider	Accumulating	Distributing
Amundi	Acc	Dist
HSBC	No indication in the ETF title	No indication in the ETF title
iShares	(Acc)	(Dist)
SPDR	(Acc)	(Dist)
UBS ETF	A-acc	A-Dis
Vanguard	Accumulating	Distributing
Xtrackers	1C	1D

Whether you opt for an accumulating or distributing ETF is ultimately a matter of taste or depends on your personal preferences.

If you are particularly interested in the (full) power of compound interest, choose an accumulating ETF. However, if you are motivated by regular payouts that you can dispose of freely, a distributing ETF is the right choice for you.

However, tax considerations should have no influence on your decision. This is because both options are taxed in exactly the same way under the Swiss tax system. You can find out more here: “ETF taxes Switzerland: Optimize your portfolio with these 5 tax-saving tips”

Other ETF abbreviations

“UCITS”

You will often find “UCITS” in the ETF name. This abbreviation stands for “Undertakings for Collective Investments in Transferable Securities”. This is a regulatory standard or the so-called UCITS Directive.

An ETF that is UCITS-compliant is likely to appeal to security-conscious investors in particular. This is because the European UCITS standard aims to strengthen investor protection. This includes, among other things, regulations according to which the ETF is treated as a special fund or which stipulate sufficient diversification in order to avoid cluster risk.

ETFs based on country-specific indices such as the “SMI” or the “DAX” are therefore often not UCITS-compliant due to the lack of diversification.

Although country-specific indices are popular with the media and investors, we are skeptical of them due to insufficient diversification (cluster risk) and prefer global or at least regional ETFs – also for reasons of efficiency.

“IE”, “LU” & Co.

In some cases, such as with UBS, the fund domicile (e.g. “IE” for Ireland or “LU” for Luxembourg) can even be read from the ETF title. However, most fund providers do not include this information in the ETF name. In these cases, you can find the fund domicile in the corresponding factsheet or the twelve-digit ISIN, which begins with the country code of the fund domicile (e.g. LU0950674175for the ETF below).

Example ETF: UBS ETF (LU) MSCI Emerging Markets UCITS ETF (USD) A-acc

CHF, EUR, USD

Currency information such as CHF, EUR or USD in the ETF title usually describes the fund currency. The ETFs from Vanguard and UBS already include this information in the ETF name, while most other providers do not.

An ETF is based on a specific fund currency, usually USD, but you can often trade it in different currencies. You can find out which trading currencies are possible in the small print or in the provider’s factsheet.

Example ETF: Vanguard S&P 500 UCITS ETF (USD) Distributing

“Hedged”

Currency-hedged ETFs are labeled “Hedged”. If your reference currency is the Swiss franc and you want to avoid major currency fluctuations, then opt for a “Hedged to CHF” or “CHF Hedged” variant. However, you should bear in mind that currency-hedged ETFs are often significantly more expensive than their traditional counterparts.

Example ETF: iShares MSCI World CHF Hedged UCITS ETF (Acc)

“Core”, “Edge”, “Prime”, “Easy” & Co.

Some providers and their marketing departments decorate their ETF names with their own word creations. The market leader iShares in particular stands out in this respect, often adding the words “Core” (broadly diversified) or “Edge” (selective or focus on certain factors such as “Value”) to its ETF names.

Example ETF: iShares Edge MSCI World Value Factor UCITS ETF

You will look in vain for this information in the ETF name

While we have explained ETF abbreviations in the previous chapters, which are always or at least sometimes listed in the ETF name depending on the fund and provider, we will now turn our attention to the product information that you need to find elsewhere.

It is obvious that all information that is of a dynamic nature or can change constantly is missing from the ETF name. These are often important selection criteria that you need to know when choosing your desired ETF: e.g. fund size, costs (TER), tracking difference.

In this, our most popular article to date, “Best ETFs Switzerland and globally: And the Winner is…” you will find the most important selection criteria we used to choose the best ETFs.

Conclusion: Understanding ETF abbreviations easily

Understanding ETF abbreviations correctly protects you from making mistakes. The ETF name offers you a reliable, initial decision-making aid with regard to the provider, the index and thus also the diversification, as well as whether the ETF meets a regulatory standard and whether you as an investor benefit from special protection.

Some providers, such as UBS, use particularly meaningful ETF designations by including information on the fund domicile and fund currency in the ETF name.

An ETF with the designation “UBS ETF (LU) MSCI World Socially Responsible UCITS ETF (USD) A-acc” provides you with information on no less than eight characteristics at a glance:

• UBS ETF = fund provider
• (LU) = Fund domicile Luxembourg
• MSCI World = Index includes all industrialized countries worldwide
• Socially Responsible = Index focuses on sustainable companies
• UCITS = fund meets regulatory standard with increased investor protection
• ETF = product type
• (USD) = fund currency
• A-acc = reinvestment of dividends (accumulating, not distributing)

However, selecting an ETF based on its name alone would be too short-sighted. You won’t find important selection criteria such as fund size, costs or tracking difference in the ETF descriptions. In this case, you should consult the providers’ product factsheets or established ETF portals such as justETF or TrackingDifferences.

If you are bored by long ETF research or simply interested in our ETF favorites, then we recommend reading “Best ETFs Switzerland and globally: And the Winner is…”. In this major ETF comparison, we subjected over 1,500 ETFs to a rigorous, multi-stage selection process and chose the best products in various categories.

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Disclaimer

Disclaimer: Investing involves risks of loss. You must decide for yourself whether you want to bear these risks or not.

Errors excepted: We have written this article on how to easily understand ETF abbreviations to the best of our knowledge and belief. Our aim is to provide you as a private investor with the most objective and meaningful financial information possible. However, if we have made mistakes, forgotten important aspects and/or are no longer up to date, we would be grateful if you could let us know.