Exchange-traded funds, or ETFs, are often low-cost instruments for investors to track popular indexes or leverage experienced manager choices in an attempt to beat the market. The best ones serve as building blocks for a portfolio, and unlike open-end mutual funds, all ETFs are traded throughout the day on an exchange.
In 2024, the top-performing ETFs included equity technology funds Amundi MSCI Semiconductors ESG Screened CHIP and VanEck Video Gaming and eSports ESPO. Data in this article is sourced from Morningstar Direct.
Screening for the Best-Performing ETFs
To find the year’s best-performing ETFs, we screened those in Morningstar’s equity, allocation, or fixed-income categories that are available in the UK. We excluded exchange-traded notes, known as ETNs, and ETFs with less than $25 million (£20.0 million) in total assets. We also excluded funds that fall into Morningstar’s “trading” categories, as these funds are designed for active traders and are not suitable for long-term investors.
Within our list, two funds fell into the equity communications category, where…
