Gold Miner ETFs have topped the list of best performers over the year to date, with Aerospace & Defence and European Banks also performing well, writes UK wealth manager, Hargreaves Lansdown.
Oil and Clean Energy ETFs struggled by comparison, the firm says, while flows into ETFs remain strong this year, particularly into equity funds.
Victoria Hasler, head of fund research, Hargreaves Lansdown, says: “The first six months of the year have been something of a rollercoaster ride. Tariffs, rollbacks on tariffs, tweets, trade deals and conflicts have all had an impact on markets. So how have ETFs fared, and who have been the winners?
“The top-performing ETFs over the first six months of the year probably won’t come as much of a surprise as the list is headed up by ETFs tracking gold miners. Despite a bit of a wobble in the last few weeks, gold has rallied hard in the last 18 months or so, and year to date is up 24.38 per cent in dollar terms (17.44 per cent in sterling terms). Gold miners had been lagging this rally but have surged in 2025 and are up 48.16 per cent over the last six months in sterling terms.
“Following closely on the heels of mining ETFs, those tracking defence sector indices also performed well in the first half of the year. Increased geopolitical tensions, combined with the US president’s unambiguous demands for more meaningful contributions from America’s allies, have led to most NATO members pledging increased military spending. The FTSE AW Aerospace & Defence index rose 31.94 per cent in the six months to the end of June.
“Another winner was the European banking sector as profitability improved, and many investors rebalanced away from the US. The Euro Stoxx Banks index rose 50.96 per cent.
“Some ETFs fared less well, including any investing in oil, where prices were volatile on the back of so much uncertainty. Clean energy ETFs also struggled as Trump’s attitude to climate change put future subsidies in question.
“Despite so much volatility, ETF flows were strong in the first half of the year, particularly into equity funds. Perhaps unsurprisingly, global equity ETFs saw the biggest inflows, with almost GBP37 billion of new assets in the first six months of the year. The next best sector, European Equity ETFs, saw less than half this at just over GBP15 billion. It’s worth mentioning that flows into precious metals ETFs were also strong, at GBP6.5 billion, albeit from a much lower base.
“The biggest outflows were from UK Equity ETFs, which suffered, in aggregate, GBP1.4 billion of outflows. This is very much in line with the broader funds market and reflects the negative sentiment that investors still harbour towards the UK market.”
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