Materials · Shares inside your ETFs
Rio Tinto in your ETF: how much you own, and the share price
Rio Tinto is two listed companies run as one business, and its returns swing more than most. Here’s its share price, how its structure works, and how much of it sits inside the ETFs UK investors can buy.
By The Off-Duty Economist Last reviewed Fund holdings to 31 August 2026
The short version
- Rio Tinto plc was about 3% of a FTSE 100 ETF at the end of August 2026, its eighth-largest holding. So £1,000 in a FTSE 100 ETF puts about £30 into Rio Tinto.
- It's two companies run as one: Rio Tinto plc in London and Rio Tinto Limited in Australia. UK funds hold only the plc; world funds hold both.
- A world materials ETF held nearly 5% across the two, and a world ETF about 0.15%.
- Its returns swing: by its own figures, −15.4% in 2024 and then +43.7% in 2025.
Part of Shares inside your ETFs, which covers one company from each of the 11 stock market sectors. New to funds? Start with what an ETF is.
- 3.0%of a FTSE 100 ETF is Rio Tinto plc (31 August 2026)
- £30of every £1,000 in a FTSE 100 ETF goes into Rio Tinto
- 2companies, Rio Tinto plc and Rio Tinto Limited, run as one business
Rio Tinto's share price today
Rio Tinto plc trades on the London Stock Exchange under the ticker RIO, so the price is in pence. Its sister company, Rio Tinto Limited, trades in Australia.
Rio Tinto plc (RIO) live share price
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Your choice is remembered on this device. Prices are in pence (GBX).
Which ETFs hold Rio Tinto?
Every fund that tracks the UK stock market holds Rio Tinto plc, and world funds hold Rio Tinto Limited as well. The table shows eight ETFs that UK investors can buy on the London Stock Exchange, with Rio Tinto’s share of each.
It’s a list of which funds hold Rio Tinto and how much, not a list of funds to buy. Each fund’s name links to its full profile.
| Fund | What it tracks | London tickers | Rio Tinto's share | Rio Tinto in every £1,000 | Yearly charge | Fund size |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Xtrackers MSCI World Materials UCITS ETF 1C | Materials companies in the MSCI World | XSMW / XDWM | 4.87% (3.42% plc + 1.45% Limited) | £49 | 0.25% | £610m |
| iShares MSCI UK UCITS ETF (Acc) | MSCI United Kingdom (large and mid-sized UK companies) | CSUK | 3.44% | £34 | 0.33% | £116m |
| HSBC FTSE 100 UCITS ETF | FTSE 100 | HUKX | 3.09% | £31 | 0.07% | £861m |
| iShares Core FTSE 100 UCITS ETF (Dist) | FTSE 100 | ISF | 3.05% | £30 | 0.07% | £16.2bn |
| Vanguard FTSE 100 UCITS ETF (GBP) Distributing | FTSE 100 | VUKE | 3.04% | £30 | 0.09% | £4.6bn |
| SPDR FTSE UK All Share UCITS ETF (Acc) | FTSE All-Share (about 500 UK companies) | FTAL | 2.71% | £27 | 0.20% | £389m |
| iShares Core MSCI World UCITS ETF USD (Acc) | MSCI World (developed markets) | SWDA / IWDA | 0.16% (0.11% plc + 0.05% Limited) | £2 | 0.20% | £112.8bn |
| Vanguard FTSE All-World UCITS ETF (USD) Distributing | FTSE All-World (developed and emerging markets) | VWRL / VWRD | 0.143% (0.098% plc + 0.045% Limited) | £1 | 0.14% | £20.5bn |
Holdings are as at 31 August 2026 (28 August for HSBC FTSE 100). Where a fund holds both companies, the two are added together from the provider’s full holdings list: DWS for the Xtrackers fund and iShares for the Core MSCI World ETF (both 13 October 2026), and Vanguard for the FTSE All-World ETF (31 August 2026). The accumulating versions of the iShares and Vanguard FTSE 100 funds (tickers CUKX and VUKG) hold the same. Fund sizes are in pounds. Where a fund has two London tickers, the first is priced in pounds or pence and the second in US dollars.
Rio Tinto is about 3% of a FTSE 100 ETF, and nearly 5% of a world materials ETF
Rio Tinto's share of each fund's holdings
- World materials fund
- UK index funds
- Global index funds
Source: fund holdings from justETF, plus fund providers' full holdings lists where shown in the sources, consulted 14 October 2026. Holdings as at 31 August 2026 (28 August for HSBC FTSE 100, 13 October for Xtrackers World Materials and iShares Core MSCI World). Where a fund holds both Rio Tinto plc and Rio Tinto Limited, the two are added together. Weights change every day. Chart: Invest in ETFs.
Show the data
| Fund (ticker) | Rio Tinto's share | In every £1,000 | Holdings as at |
|---|---|---|---|
| Xtrackers World Materials (XSMW) | 4.87% | £49 | 13 Oct 2026 |
| iShares MSCI UK (CSUK) | 3.44% | £34 | 31 Aug 2026 |
| HSBC FTSE 100 (HUKX) | 3.09% | £31 | 28 Aug 2026 |
| iShares Core FTSE 100 (ISF) | 3.05% | £30 | 31 Aug 2026 |
| Vanguard FTSE 100 (VUKE) | 3.04% | £30 | 31 Aug 2026 |
| SPDR FTSE UK All Share (FTAL) | 2.71% | £27 | 31 Aug 2026 |
| iShares Core MSCI World (SWDA) | 0.16% | £2 | 13 Oct 2026 |
| Vanguard FTSE All-World (VWRL) | 0.14% | £1 | 31 Aug 2026 |
Two other ETFs sold in London have Rio Tinto plc among their 10 largest holdings: the SPDR MSCI World Materials ETF (3.53%) and the VanEck S&P Global Mining ETF (4.97%) at the end of August 2026. We couldn’t check whether they also hold Rio Tinto Limited, so they’re left out of the table rather than under-counted.
One business, two companies
Rio Tinto operates under a dual listed companies structure. Rio Tinto plc is incorporated in the UK, registered in England and Wales, and has its main listing in London. Rio Tinto Limited is registered in Australia and listed on the Australian Securities Exchange. The two have the same boards of directors, are managed as one business, and a share in each carries equal rights to dividends, votes and capital.
That matters for index funds. FTSE’s UK indices hold only Rio Tinto plc. MSCI’s world indices hold both companies as two separate lines, so to see how much Rio Tinto a world fund holds you have to add them together. The table does that where the fund’s full holdings list was available.
Rio Tinto says the structure had an extensive independent review in 2024, after which its board concluded that it continues to be effective.
How much a mining share can swing
Rio Tinto’s 2025 annual report shows how much its returns and dividends have moved from year to year.
| Year | Total shareholder return | Rio Tinto plc share price at year end | Dividends paid (US cents a share) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | −3.8% | 4,892p | 963 |
| 2022 | 18.3% | 5,798p | 746 |
| 2023 | 15.8% | 5,842p | 402 |
| 2024 | −15.4% | 4,723p | 435 |
| 2025 | 43.7% | 5,994p | 373 |
The returns are for the Rio Tinto group as a whole, counting dividends and share price changes; the report doesn’t say which currency they’re measured in. Share prices are at 31 December each year.
Two things stand out. A loss of 15.4% in one year was followed by a gain of 43.7% in the next. And the dividend paid in 2025 was well under half the 2021 figure. A single company’s dividend can fall a long way. A fund holding many companies spreads that risk, though a fund of mining companies will still rise and fall with them.
Rio Tinto in materials and mining funds
Under GICS, the sector system MSCI and S&P use, Rio Tinto is in the Materials sector. Rio Tinto plc was the sixth-largest company in the MSCI World Materials Index on 30 September 2026, at 3.47%.
In the Xtrackers MSCI World Materials ETF, the two Rio Tinto lines added up to 4.87% on 13 October 2026. A materials fund holds about 90 companies, all in one part of the economy, so it can rise and fall much further than a broad index fund.
Rio Tinto and the Materials sector
Materials covers makers of chemicals, construction materials, glass, paper and packaging, plus metals and mining companies, steelmakers included. It’s a much bigger part of the UK market than of others: 8.1% of a FTSE 100 ETF on 13 October 2026, against 3.1% of a world ETF and 1.6% of an S&P 500 ETF, using GICS sectors.
Rio Tinto is one company in our series picking one share from each of the 11 stock market sectors. See all 11 sectors and what each one covers.
Rio Tinto shares or an ETF that holds Rio Tinto?
You can own Rio Tinto directly, by buying its shares, or indirectly, through a fund. Here’s how the two compare for a UK investor, using a FTSE 100 ETF as the example.
| Rio Tinto shares | A FTSE 100 ETF | |
|---|---|---|
| What you own | Part of one company | Part of about 100 UK companies, with Rio Tinto about 3% |
| If Rio Tinto's shares fell by a fifth | Your holding falls by a fifth | Rio Tinto's fall alone takes about 0.6% off the fund |
| Where it trades | London Stock Exchange, in pence | London Stock Exchange, in pounds or pence |
| Stamp duty | 0.5% stamp duty reserve tax when you buy UK shares electronically | None on ETFs (what an ETF costs) |
| Dividends | Rio Tinto's own dividend, which has varied a lot from year to year | Dividends from about 100 companies, paid out or reinvested |
| In a stocks and shares ISA | Yes | Yes |
| Yearly cost of holding | No fund charge; platform fees may apply | From 0.07% a year, plus platform fees |
Common questions
- What’s the difference between Rio Tinto plc and Rio Tinto Limited?
- They’re two listed companies run as one business, with the same boards. Rio Tinto plc is listed in London and Rio Tinto Limited in Australia. A share in each carries equal rights to dividends, votes and capital.
- Which one do UK index funds hold?
- FTSE 100 and other UK index funds hold Rio Tinto plc. World funds tracking MSCI or FTSE world indices hold both.
- Which ETFs hold the most Rio Tinto?
- Of the funds above, the Xtrackers MSCI World Materials ETF: 4.87% across both companies on 13 October 2026. UK index funds hold about 2.7% to 3.4%, and a world fund about 0.15%.
- Does Rio Tinto pay a dividend?
- Yes, but the amount has varied a lot. By its annual report, dividends paid fell from 963 US cents a share in 2021 to 373 cents in 2025.
- Can Rio Tinto shares go in an ISA?
- Yes. Shares count for a stocks and shares ISA if they’re officially listed on a recognised stock exchange, and the London Stock Exchange is one. The ETFs in the table can go in an ISA too.
Before you rely on this page
Sources
- justETF fund profiles for the funds in the table, linked from each fund's name. Consulted 14 October 2026; holdings as at the dates given. Plus full holdings lists from DWS for the Xtrackers MSCI World Materials ETF and iShares for the Core MSCI World ETF (13 October 2026), and Vanguard's portfolio data for the FTSE All-World ETF (31 August 2026).
- Rio Tinto, 2025 Annual Report (incorporation, structure, shareholder returns and dividends) and dual listed companies structure
- London Stock Exchange, Rio Tinto plc company page, 14 October 2026
- MSCI, MSCI World Materials Index factsheet, 30 September 2026
- Sector weights of the iShares Core S&P 500, Core MSCI World and Core FTSE 100 ETFs, BlackRock, as of 13 October 2026
- HM Revenue & Customs, stocks and shares investments for ISA managers; GOV.UK, tax when you buy shares
Sources checked 14 October 2026. Live prices from TradingView.