Every Theme ETF on the ASX — Performance, Fees, and the Ones Worth Holding

The data tells a much messier story. Over the past 12 months, thematic ETF returns on the ASX ranged from +101% (clean energy winner HGEN) to −35% (inverse US equities BBUS). Same sleeve of the market, wildly different outcomes. The fees range from 0.09% to 1.30% p.a. — a 14-fold gap for what many investors assume is a commoditised product.

This blog ranks every theme ETF on the ASX by total return, broken down by theme, with the best and worst performers called out in each. Every theme page on reviewetf.com.au is linked directly so you can drill into the full list.

No fund manager wrote this. No issuer is paying for placement. Just data.

Theme performance at a glance

Here's every theme ranked by 1-year return, with 3-year and 5-year averages where funds have a long enough track record.

What jumps out

• Critical minerals and uranium top the 1-year table at +62.7% and +58.9% respectively — boosted by battery metals (XMET, ACDC) and uranium miners (ATOM, URNM).

• Gold & precious metals put up staggering 3yr (+100%) and 5yr (+126%) numbers. The underlying gold price nearly doubled in AUD terms across 2024–2025.

• Clean energy recovered hard in 12 months (+48.6% avg) but 5-year return is still only +5.8% — the 2022-2023 drawdown crushed long-term numbers.

• Defence averaged +32% in its first year on the ASX — a brand-new theme with only 3 ETFs.

• Cybersecurity had a rough year (−19.8% avg) but the 5-year return is still +60%.

• Geared/leveraged averaged just +6.2% over 1yr despite the bull market — leverage decay is real, and the costs pile up.

• Technology surprised on the low side at just +7.3% over 1yr. The 23-ETF average dragged down by inverse/short funds (SNAS) lumped into the tech bucket.

Where the money actually sits

AUM is a useful proxy for what Australian investors actually hold, not just what issuers have launched:

The top 3 themes hold about 85% of all thematic ETF money on the ASX. Hedged international equity is by far the biggest — $41B across 70 funds — followed by gold and broad technology. Niche themes like uranium, defence, and cybersecurity remain small despite strong recent performance.

Fee range by theme — some categories cost 10x more

This chart plots the cheapest, most expensive, and average MER for every theme. The spread is enormous.

A broad index ETF like VAS charges 0.07%. Most thematic ETFs are 5-15x that. Clean energy, China, and geared funds average 10x the cost of a plain index fund.

High fees don't automatically mean poor funds — but they demand a much higher return hurdle to justify themselves. Many thematic ETFs don't clear it. Our fee ranking shows the full picture.

The top performer in each theme

If you held the single best ETF in each theme over the past 12 months, here's the result:

⚠️ Caution: a single year is not a strategy. These are the funds that worked recently. Half will look very different in 12 months. The more useful filter is consistency — which we'll unpack theme by theme below.

Theme-by-theme breakdown

🥇 Gold & Precious Metals — the quiet king (17 ETFs, $16.6B AUM)

Full list: Gold & Precious Metals ETFs

Avg 5yr return: +126%. Comfortably one of the best-performing themes on the ASX over 5 years. Gold rose ~28% in AUD in 2024 and ~57% in 2025 — its best two-year run since 1979.

Key picks:

• PMGOLD — 0.15% MER, backed by Perth Mint physical gold. Cheapest way to own physical gold on the ASX.

• GOLD — 0.40% MER, largest AUM, physical gold. Most popular.

• MNRS — 0.57% MER, +92.5% 1Y. Gold miners (leveraged exposure to gold price).

• GDX — strong 5yr return, for the biggest miners globally.

• NUGG, GXLD — newer physical gold options.

• ETPMAG, SLVM — physical silver exposure.

• ETPMPT, ETPMPD — platinum and palladium.

For physical gold exposure, PMGOLD is hard to beat on fees. For geared exposure to the gold price, MNRS and GDX have delivered.

☢️ Uranium — highest-returning theme of the last 3 years (3 ETFs, $460M AUM)

Full list: Uranium ETFs

Avg 3yr return: +132%. Nuclear is back on the agenda globally (small modular reactors, data centre power demand, carbon reduction targets), and uranium has been one of the best trades of the past 3 years.

Key picks:

• ATOM — 0.69% MER, +90.9% 1Y. Global uranium miners.

• URNM — 0.69% MER, +85.9% 1Y. Slightly different methodology.

• URAN — newer option, similar global uranium exposure.

All three funds are small and highly volatile. Size your position accordingly. If you're going anywhere near uranium, remember it had a flat decade from 2011 to 2020.

⚡ Clean Energy — one year up, five years flat (8 ETFs, $4.1B AUM)

Full list: Clean Energy ETFs

1-year: +48.6% average. 3-year: +52%. 5-year: +5.8%. Huge swings. Clean energy had a brutal 2022-2023 after being a 2020-2021 darling, then recovered strongly in 2025-2026.

Key picks:

• HGEN — 0.69% MER, +100.8% 1Y. Hydrogen play, very concentrated.

• ERTH — 0.65% MER. Climate innovation, much broader than pure clean energy.

• ETHI — ethical tilt, not pure clean energy but screens fossil fuels out.

• CLNE — VanEck Global Clean Energy.

Clean energy is high-beta — expect 50%+ swings in either direction. Don't mistake the 1-year number for an entry point.

🔋 Critical Minerals — battery metals and beyond (8 ETFs, $2.9B AUM)

Full list: Critical Minerals ETFs

Avg 1yr: +62.7%. Battery metals (lithium, nickel, copper, rare earths) have rallied hard as the electrification theme reignited in 2025-2026.

Key picks:

• XMET — +89.1% 1Y. The year's best performer in the theme.

• ACDC — 0.69% MER. Global battery tech and lithium exposure.

• GMTL — green metals / transition materials.

• WIRE — copper and electrification metals.

• MVR, QRE, OZR — Australian resources ETFs (cross-listed here given heavy critical minerals exposure).

💻 Technology — huge category, wide spread (23 ETFs, $12.7B AUM)

Full list: Technology ETFs

$12.7B across 23 ETFs — the most crowded thematic bucket. Avg 5yr return: +32% — solid, but disguises a massive spread (FANG +110% 5yr vs IIND +14% 5yr, and inverse/short funds sitting deeply negative).

Key picks:

• NDQ — 0.48% MER, $6.9B AUM, +92% 5yr. The default Nasdaq 100 play.

• FANG — 0.35% MER, +110% 5yr. Just 10 mega-cap stocks. Cheapest and best-performing tech ETF on the ASX.

• SEMI — +67.2% 1Y, 0.45% MER. Semiconductor pure-play.

• ASIA — 0.67% MER. Asia tech giants.

• HNDQ — hedged Nasdaq 100, 0.51% MER.

• ATEC — 0.48% MER. The Australian tech story — underperformed US tech significantly.

Note: the theme bucket on ReviewETF includes inverse funds (SNAS) and geared Nasdaq plays (LNAS, GNDQ) — these drag down the category average but give tactical traders options.

🤖 AI & Robotics — semis did the heavy lifting (7 ETFs, $1.3B AUM)

Full list: AI & Robotics ETFs

Avg 1yr: +17.6%. Semiconductors (SEMI +67.2%) drove the category; older robotics funds like ROBO and RBTZ trailed.

Key picks:

• SEMI — 0.45% MER, +67.2% 1Y. Pure semiconductor exposure — cheapest and best performer.

• GXAI — Global X Artificial Intelligence & Technology.

• ROBO — 0.69% MER. Original ASX robotics ETF.

• RBTZ — 0.57% MER. Slightly cheaper robotics option.

• HMND, AINF, DRIV — newer AI-adjacent funds.

Most of the AI "pure play" exposure is already inside NDQ or FANG via NVIDIA, Microsoft, and Alphabet. A dedicated AI ETF may just be duplicating exposure you already own — SEMI is the cleanest differentiated bet.

🏥 Healthcare — safe, steady, rarely spectacular (4 ETFs, $1.6B AUM)

Full list: Healthcare ETFs

Avg 5yr: +21%. The defensive sector of thematic investing — plays catch-up during market corrections, lags in bull runs.

Key picks:

• IXJ — 0.41% MER, largest AUM. Global healthcare, the default choice.

• DRUG — 0.57% MER, hedged version of global healthcare.

• CURE — 0.45% MER, +30.6% 1Y, +55.2% 3Y. US biotech pure-play.

• HLTH — newer broad healthcare option.

🛡️ Cybersecurity — long-term theme, short-term pain (2 ETFs, $1.1B AUM)

Full list: Cybersecurity ETFs

Key picks:

• HACK — 0.67% MER, $1.1B AUM. Established option, −9.9% last 12 months but +60.4% over 5 years.

• BUGG — newer cybersecurity ETF launched 2025.

Cybersecurity remains a strong structural theme (ransomware, AI-driven attacks, data privacy regulation), but ETF performance follows the cybersecurity sector's valuation cycle, not just the headline narrative.

🛡️ Defence — new entrant, strong start (3 ETFs, $665M AUM)

Full list: Defence ETFs

Avg 1yr: +32.4%. A brand-new theme with strong early momentum driven by the NATO 2% of GDP pledge and geopolitical tensions (Ukraine, Taiwan, Middle East).

Key picks:

• DTEC — 0.50% MER, +36.6% 1Y. Defence tech tilt.

• ARMR — 0.55% MER, +27.9% 1Y. First-to-market defence ETF in Australia.

• DFND — newer global defence option.

All three are relatively concentrated with heavy weights to the big US and European defence contractors. Short history, so size positions accordingly.

🌐 Hedged (Intl Equity) — the sensible core, not really "thematic" (70 ETFs, $41.2B AUM)

Full list: Hedged Currency ETFs

$41B across 70 ETFs — by far the largest bucket by money held. These are currency-hedged versions of everything from broad international equity to specific sectors, bond funds, and gold miners.

Key equity picks:

• HGBL — 0.11% MER. Cheapest hedged global ETF on the ASX.

• VGAD — 0.21% MER, $6B AUM. The benchmark hedged MSCI World.

• IHVV — hedged S&P 500.

• HNDQ — 0.51% MER. Hedged Nasdaq 100.

• QHAL — 0.43% MER. Hedged quality factor.

• IHOO — hedged Global 100, concentrated mega-cap exposure.

If you want international equity exposure without the currency risk, this is your pool. Our hedged vs unhedged deep dive covers the trade-offs.

🇨🇳 China & Emerging Asia — broader than just China (15 ETFs, $6.9B AUM)

Full list: China & Emerging Asia ETFs

On the ReviewETF site this theme bucket covers both China-specific and emerging Asia / broader EM funds. Avg 1yr: +12.2%, 5yr: +19.2%.

Key picks:

• IAA — 0.29% MER, +36.0% 1Y. Asia 50 exposure (the best performer in the bucket).

• IZZ — 0.60% MER. Large-cap China.

• CNEW — "New economy" Chinese companies.

• CETF — China A-shares exposure.

• VGE, IEM, EMKT, WEMG — broad emerging markets options.

• VAE — Vanguard FTSE Asia ex-Japan.

China-specific ETFs have been a 5-year disappointment. Broader Asia / EM exposure (IAA, VGE) has performed better.

📈 Geared / Leveraged — the cautionary theme (12 ETFs, $1.5B AUM)

Full list: Geared & Leveraged ETFs

Avg 1yr: +6.2% despite a strong bull market. Avg 5yr: +24%. These funds suffer volatility decay — they reset daily, so any zig-zag market chops value out of them even when the underlying ends up.

The winners:

• GEAR — 0.80% MER. 2x ASX 200.

• LNAS — 1.00% MER, +34.7% 1Y. 2x Nasdaq 100.

• GGUS — geared US equities (currency hedged).

• GHHF — geared diversified core portfolio.

The losers (short / inverse):

• SNAS — short Nasdaq. Deeply negative over 5 years.

• G200, GGAB, GMVW — newer additions, limited history.

These are short-term tactical instruments, not long-term holdings. If you buy inverse ETFs and hold them for 5 years, you will likely lose money. Our "hold vs trade" guide covers this trap in detail.

Bottom line

Themes to hold long-term (structural tailwinds + reasonable fees):

• Gold & precious metals — consistently strong, cheap options available (PMGOLD at 0.15%)

• Hedged international equity — broadest, cheapest, most liquid (HGBL, VGAD)

• Technology (broad) — NDQ and FANG for mega-cap tech exposure

• Healthcare — IXJ as a steady defensive allocation

Themes for small tactical allocations (high volatility, follow cycles):

• Uranium — small position, accept 50%+ drawdowns

• Critical minerals — cyclical, tied to the commodity cycle

• Defence — newer theme, structural demand but highly concentrated

• Semiconductors (SEMI) — cleanest AI pure-play if you want additional tech exposure

Themes to approach with extreme caution:

• Clean energy — bipolar returns (+48% 1Y but only +6% 5Y), check valuation before entering

• China-specific — a 5-year track record of disappointment; broader Asia/EM exposure (IAA, VGE) has served better

• Cybersecurity — strong long-term theme, but currently in a correction

• AI & Robotics broad ETFs — you probably already own the AI winners through NDQ/FANG. Only SEMI adds differentiated exposure.

Themes to avoid as long-term holdings:

• Geared/leveraged — volatility decay destroys value. Trade only.

• Inverse ETFs — lose money in the long run because markets go up.

Related reading

• The ultimate list of dividend ETFs — ranked by total return — the high-dividend theme, covered in full

• Every ASX ETF ranked by fees — cheapest to most expensive across the board

• Hold vs trade ETFs — why geared and inverse funds are for trading only

• Hedged vs unhedged — the best option in every category

• Is the cheapest ETF always the best?

• How to build your core portfolio with ETFs — how to integrate themes alongside a sensible core

Data current to 31 March 2026. Source: CBOE Australia monthly report. Total return calculations assume reinvested distributions where applicable. Past performance is not indicative of future results. This article is general information only and does not consider your personal situation. Seek professional advice before investing.