A global specialist fund manager has identified the best-performing exchange-traded funds (ETF) over the past year, with a mixture of geographic and specific sectors delivering the best results.
The “March 2025 Global X Market Scoop Report” for Australia revealed the iShares China Large-Cap ETF as the top performer, generating an annual return of 58.8 per cent.
The manager attributed the result to renewed foreign investment, particularly in technology, triggered by expectations of economic stabilisation and policy support from the Chinese government.
The gaming and electronic sports sectors fared very well too, with the BetaShares Video Game and Esports ETF delivering a return marginally below its iShares counterpart of 58 per cent a year.
“The gaming and esports sector also saw strong gains, led by AppLovin’s 300 per cent share price surge due to strong earnings, advancements in its AI advertising engine and its addition to the Nasdaq 100 Index,” Global X stated.
Offerings involving gold were other strong performers, with the VanEck Gold Miners ETF, BetaShares Global Gold Miners Currency Hedged ETF and iShares Physical Gold ETF providing yearly returns of 54.2 per cent, 53.7 per cent and 47 per cent respectively.
“Gold-related ETFs performed well as gold prices reached all-time highs, bolstered by central bank demand, geopolitical tensions and inflation concerns, with gold miners outperforming the physical metal over the past year,” the manager acknowledged.
At the other end of the performance spectrum, cryptocurrencies underdelivered the most, with the Global X 21Shares Ethereum ETF generating a return of negative 46.6 over the year.
“After a strong performance in 2024, cryptocurrency ETFs pulled back due to risk-off sentiment. While Bitcoin has remained positive over the past year, Ethereum has fallen approximately 47 per cent during the same period, with the latter facing scalability issues amid its transition to a proof-of-stake model, competition from newer blockchains and security concerns,” according to the report.
The clean energy sector also produced poor results, evidenced by the BetaShares Global Uranium ETF, Global X Hydrogen ETF and VanEck Global Clean Energy ETF experiencing returns of -28.8 per cent, -18.4 per cent and -18 per cent respectively.
“Energy transition and clean energy ETFs remain among the poorest performers, affected by high interest rates, fading government support and supply-chain challenges. Uranium spot prices hit their lowest since November 2023, driven by supply uncertainties from Russian uranium sanctions and reduced contracting volumes,” Global X said.
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