Energy · Shares inside your ETFs
Shell in your ETF: how much you own, and the share price
Shell is the second-largest company in the FTSE 100, so a UK index fund holds about as much of it as a specialist energy fund does. Here’s its share price, how it became Shell plc, 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
- Shell was the second-largest holding in every FTSE 100 ETF at the end of August 2026, at about 7.2%. So £1,000 in a FTSE 100 ETF puts about £72 into Shell.
- World energy ETFs hold a similar slice, about 7%. A world ETF holds about 0.3%.
- The weight moves quickly: iShares put Shell at 8.85% of its FTSE 100 ETF on 13 October 2026, up from 7.21% six weeks earlier.
- Until January 2022 it was Royal Dutch Shell, with A and B shares and its tax home in the Netherlands.
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.
- 7.2%of a FTSE 100 ETF is Shell, its second-largest holding (31 August 2026)
- £72of every £1,000 in a FTSE 100 ETF goes into Shell
- 2022the year Royal Dutch Shell became Shell plc, with one line of shares
Shell's share price today
Shell’s shares trade on the London Stock Exchange under the ticker SHEL, so the price is in pence.
Shell (SHEL) live share price
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Which ETFs hold Shell?
Every fund that tracks the UK stock market holds Shell, and so does every world energy fund. The table shows 10 ETFs that UK investors can buy on the London Stock Exchange, with Shell’s share of each.
It’s a list of which funds hold Shell 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 | Shell's share | Shell in every £1,000 | Yearly charge | Fund size |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| iShares MSCI UK UCITS ETF (Acc) | MSCI United Kingdom (large and mid-sized UK companies) | CSUK | 7.81% | £78 | 0.33% | £116m |
| HSBC FTSE 100 UCITS ETF | FTSE 100 | HUKX | 7.30% | £73 | 0.07% | £861m |
| iShares Core FTSE 100 UCITS ETF (Dist) | FTSE 100 | ISF | 7.21% | £72 | 0.07% | £16.2bn |
| Vanguard FTSE 100 UCITS ETF (GBP) Distributing | FTSE 100 | VUKE | 7.19% | £72 | 0.09% | £4.6bn |
| Xtrackers MSCI World Energy UCITS ETF 1C | Energy companies in the MSCI World | XWES / XDW0 | 6.87% | £69 | 0.25% | £1.6bn |
| State Street SPDR MSCI World Energy UCITS ETF | Energy companies in the MSCI World | ENGW / WNRG | 6.75% | £68 | 0.30% | £481m |
| iShares MSCI World Energy Sector UCITS ETF | Energy companies in the MSCI World | WENS | 6.71% | £67 | 0.18% | £1.1bn |
| SPDR FTSE UK All Share UCITS ETF (Acc) | FTSE All-Share (about 500 UK companies) | FTAL | 6.40% | £64 | 0.20% | £389m |
| iShares Core MSCI World UCITS ETF USD (Acc) | MSCI World (developed markets) | SWDA / IWDA | 0.32% | £3 | 0.20% | £112.8bn |
| Vanguard FTSE All-World UCITS ETF (USD) Distributing | FTSE All-World (developed and emerging markets) | VWRL / VWRD | 0.23% | £2 | 0.14% | £20.5bn |
Holdings are as at 31 August 2026 (28 August for HSBC FTSE 100). The iShares Core MSCI World figure is from iShares’ full holdings list on 13 October 2026, and the Vanguard FTSE All-World figure from Vanguard’s portfolio data at 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.
Shell is about 7% of both a FTSE 100 ETF and a world energy ETF, but about 0.3% of a world ETF
Shell's share of each fund's holdings
- UK index funds
- World energy 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 iShares Core MSCI World). Weights change every day. Chart: Invest in ETFs.
Show the data
| Fund (ticker) | Shell's share | In every £1,000 | Holdings as at |
|---|---|---|---|
| iShares MSCI UK (CSUK) | 7.81% | £78 | 31 Aug 2026 |
| HSBC FTSE 100 (HUKX) | 7.30% | £73 | 28 Aug 2026 |
| iShares Core FTSE 100 (ISF) | 7.21% | £72 | 31 Aug 2026 |
| Vanguard FTSE 100 (VUKE) | 7.19% | £72 | 31 Aug 2026 |
| Xtrackers World Energy (XWES) | 6.87% | £69 | 31 Aug 2026 |
| SPDR World Energy (ENGW) | 6.75% | £68 | 31 Aug 2026 |
| iShares World Energy (WENS) | 6.71% | £67 | 31 Aug 2026 |
| SPDR FTSE UK All Share (FTAL) | 6.40% | £64 | 31 Aug 2026 |
| iShares Core MSCI World (SWDA) | 0.32% | £3 | 13 Oct 2026 |
| Vanguard FTSE All-World (VWRL) | 0.23% | £2 | 31 Aug 2026 |
For most companies in this series, a sector fund holds far more than a broad UK fund. Shell is different: it’s so large a part of the UK stock market that a FTSE 100 ETF holds about as much of it as a world energy ETF does. In a world fund, by contrast, Shell was about 40th largest, behind dozens of bigger US companies.
Shell's place in a FTSE 100 ETF
Shell was the second-largest holding in every FTSE 100 ETF at the end of August 2026, behind HSBC. Together the two were more than a sixth of the fund.
Its weight can change quickly. iShares’ own holdings list put Shell at 8.85% of its FTSE 100 ETF on 13 October 2026, up from 7.21% at the end of August. An index fund doesn’t need to trade for that to happen: a company’s weight rises when its shares do better than the rest of the index, and falls when they do worse.
If Shell’s shares fell by a fifth, that alone would take about 1.4% off a FTSE 100 ETF at its August weight. In a world fund, the same fall would take off less than 0.1%.
From Royal Dutch Shell to Shell plc
Until January 2022 the company was Royal Dutch Shell plc, with two lines of shares, A and B, and its tax residence in the Netherlands. It announced a simplification on 15 November 2021, and shareholders backed it at a general meeting on 10 December 2021.
- 21 January 2022: the company confirmed its name had changed to Shell plc.
- 29 January 2022: the A and B shares became a single line of ordinary shares.
- 31 January 2022: the single line began trading, under the London ticker SHEL.
Shell is incorporated in England and Wales, and the change moved its tax residence to the UK too, where it now holds its board meetings and bases its chief executive and chief financial officer. Anyone who held A or B shares, index funds included, ended up holding the same ordinary shares.
Shell in energy funds
Under GICS, the sector system MSCI and S&P use, Shell is in the Energy sector. It was the third-largest company in the MSCI World Energy Index on 30 September 2026, at 7.53%, and the three world energy ETFs in the table held 6.7% to 6.9% at the end of August.
A world energy fund holds about 50 companies, all in one industry, and its biggest holdings are a large part of it. That makes it far more concentrated than a broad index fund, so it can rise and fall much further.
Shell and the Energy sector
Energy covers companies that explore for, produce, refine, store and transport oil, gas, coal and other fuels, and the firms that supply equipment and services to them. It’s a much bigger part of the UK market than of others: 12.8% of a FTSE 100 ETF on 13 October 2026, against 4.3% of a world ETF and 3.6% of an S&P 500 ETF, using GICS sectors.
Shell 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.
Shell shares or an ETF that holds Shell?
You can own Shell 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.
| Shell shares | A FTSE 100 ETF | |
|---|---|---|
| What you own | Part of one company | Part of about 100 UK companies, with Shell about 7% |
| If Shell's shares fell by a fifth | Your holding falls by a fifth | Shell's fall alone takes about 1.4% 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 | Whatever Shell decides to pay | 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
- Is Shell a UK or a Dutch company?
- Shell plc is incorporated in England and Wales, and since 2022 it has also been tax resident in the UK. Until then it was Royal Dutch Shell plc, tax resident in the Netherlands.
- What happened to Shell’s A and B shares?
- They became a single line of ordinary shares on 29 January 2022, which began trading on 31 January under the ticker SHEL.
- Which ETFs hold the most Shell?
- Of the funds above, the UK and world energy funds hold similar amounts: about 6.4% to 7.8% at the end of August 2026. A world fund holds about 0.2% to 0.3%.
- Why does Shell’s weight in my ETF keep changing?
- Because an index fund holds each company in proportion to its stock market value. When Shell’s shares do better than the rest of the index, its weight rises, and when they do worse it falls.
- Can Shell 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 iShares' full holdings lists for the Core FTSE 100 and Core MSCI World ETFs (13 October 2026) and Vanguard's portfolio data for the FTSE All-World ETF (31 August 2026).
- Shell plc, simplified share structure and share information; reports on Form 6-K of 21 January 2022 and 31 January 2022, US Securities and Exchange Commission
- London Stock Exchange, Shell plc company page, 14 October 2026
- MSCI, MSCI World Energy 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.