The Best ETFs on the ASX in 2026: Top Performers by 1-Year Returns (May 2026 Update)
The Australian ETF market is now worth $346 billion across 481 funds — up roughly $17B in a single month. And in the 12 months to 30 April 2026, the spread between the best and worst performer was even more extreme than last quarter: from +188% at the top (HGEN) to -54% at the bottom (SNAS). A 242-percentage-point gap in the same market, in the same year.
This isn't a stock-pick sheet. It's a data snapshot of which ETFs actually worked over the last 12 months, grouped by theme, with fees and long-term returns shown alongside so you can see what's real momentum vs what's flash-in-the-pan.
No fund manager wrote this article. No issuer is paying for placement.
The Top 20 ETFs on the ASX — 1-year total return
Rank | Ticker | Fund | Issuer | 1Y | 5Y | MER |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Global X Hydrogen | Global X | +188.4% | n/a | 0.69% | |
2 | iShares MSCI South Korea | iShares | +155.2% | +98% | 0.45% | |
3 | Global X Semiconductor | Global X | +126.9% | n/a | 0.45% | |
4 | Betashares Crude Oil (hedged) | Betashares | +124.3% | +135% | 1.29% | |
5 | Betashares Energy Transition Metals | Betashares | +116.6% | n/a | 0.69% | |
6 | Global X Battery Tech & Lithium | Global X | +108.0% | +103% | 0.69% | |
7 | Global X Physical Silver | Global X | +97.2% | +198% | 0.49% | |
8 | Global X Uranium | Global X | +95.3% | n/a | 0.69% | |
9 | Global X Ultra Long Nasdaq 100 (2x) | Global X | +87.8% | +54% | 1.00% | |
10 | Global X Copper Miners | Global X | +83.2% | n/a | 0.65% | |
11 | Betashares Gold Miners (hedged) | Betashares | +82.8% | +148% | 0.57% | |
12 | Betashares Global Uranium | Betashares | +79.4% | n/a | 0.69% | |
13 | VanEck Global Clean Energy | VanEck | +77.7% | -4% | 0.65% | |
14 | Global X AI Infrastructure | Global X | +77.3% | n/a | 0.57% | |
15 | Global X Physical Platinum | Global X | +73.8% | +69% | 0.49% | |
16 | Betashares Asia Tech Tigers | Betashares | +73.3% | +55% | 0.67% | |
17 | VanEck Gold Miners | VanEck | +65.3% | +187% | 0.53% | |
18 | iShares Asia 50 | iShares | +60.2% | +52% | 0.29% | |
19 | Betashares Geared US Equity (hedged) | Betashares | +59.6% | +78% | 0.80% | |
20 | VanEck Australian Resources | VanEck | +55.8% | +80% | 0.35% |
What jumps out
Global X has 11 of the top 20 — commodities and thematic specialists dominated again, even more concentrated than last quarter
Hydrogen (HGEN) +188% is the biggest 1-year move we've ever recorded on the ASX — up from +101% in March
Three semiconductor / AI ETFs made the top 20 (SEMI, LNAS, AINF) — the "AI trade" is now broader than just one fund
Not a single broad index ETF (VAS, VGS, IVV, A200) made the top 20 — 2025-2026 continues to reward concentrated, cyclical bets
Average fee among the top 20 is 0.63% — well above the 0.54% market average. Thematics aren't cheap
The top 5 alone delivered an average of +142% over 12 months — extraordinary, but only one (OOO) has a full 5-year track record
Where the winners are — by theme
Clustering the top-20 best performers by theme shows the macro forces clearly:
Theme | Avg 1Y Return | # in Top 20 | Key Tickers |
|---|---|---|---|
Hydrogen / Clean Energy | +133.1% | 2 | |
Oil & Energy | +124.3% | 1 | |
Battery / Lithium | +108.0% | 1 | |
Semiconductors / AI | +97.3% | 3 | |
Country / Asia | +96.2% | 3 | |
Uranium | +87.4% | 2 | |
Critical Minerals | +86.2% | 2 | |
Precious Metals | +85.5% | 2 | |
Copper Miners | +83.2% | 1 | |
Gold Miners | +74.1% | 2 | |
Geared US | +59.6% | 1 |
The three macro stories
1. The energy transition trade has fully reawakened. Hydrogen (HGEN +188%), clean energy (CLNE +78%), uranium (ATOM/URNM +95/+79%), critical minerals (XMET +117%, ACDC +108%), and copper (WIRE +83%) all re-rated sharply after the brutal 2022-2024 drawdown. The combination of grid electrification, AI data centre power demand, and nuclear restart momentum has been a powerful tailwind. Our commodity and resource ETFs guide covers the full set.
2. Semiconductors and AI broke through. Three months ago only SEMI was in the top 20. Now SEMI, LNAS (2× geared Nasdaq) and the new AINF (AI Infrastructure) all made the list. The April Nasdaq rally drove this — Apple, Nvidia, Broadcom and TSMC all delivered strong quarters.
3. Korea and Asia kept catching up. IKO gained another month and is now up +155% over 12 months — Korea's chaebol reforms plus the semiconductor cycle lifted Samsung, SK Hynix and Hyundai. ASIA (+73%) and IAA (+60%) followed.
Momentum vs consistency — which winners actually last?
Short-term winners can be one-hit wonders. The better question: which ETFs won the last 12 months and have delivered strong 5-year returns?
Plotting 1-year return against 5-year return puts every ETF in one of four quadrants:
Sweet spot (top-right) — hot now AND long-term winners:
Ticker | Fund | 1Y | 5Y |
|---|---|---|---|
Global X Physical Silver | +97% | +198% | |
VanEck Gold Miners | +65% | +187% | |
Betashares Gold Miners (hedged) | +83% | +148% | |
Betashares Crude Oil (hedged) | +124% | +135% | |
Global X Battery Tech & Lithium | +108% | +103% | |
iShares MSCI South Korea | +155% | +98% |
These six funds delivered top-quintile 1Y returns AND triple-digit 5Y returns. They've earned their spot through full cycles, not just a single hot year.
Momentum only (bottom-right) — great 1Y, weak 5Y:
Ticker | Fund | 1Y | 5Y |
|---|---|---|---|
Global X Hydrogen | +188% | n/a (too new) | |
VanEck Global Clean Energy | +78% | -4% | |
Asia Tech Tigers | +73% | +55% |
CLNE is the textbook example: up 78% in the last year, but still down 4% over 5 years. If you bought at the top of the clean energy bubble in 2021, you're approaching breakeven — but only after a four-year wait.
The bottom 10 — where the pain was
Rank | Ticker | Fund | 1Y | MER |
|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Global X Ultra Short Nasdaq 100 | -53.8% | 1.00% | |
2 | Betashares US Strong Bear (hedged) | -42.8% | 1.38% | |
3 | Lakehouse Global Growth | -29.2% | 1.30% | |
4 | Global X 21Shares Bitcoin | -29.0% | 0.45% | |
5 | Monochrome Bitcoin | -28.8% | 0.25% | |
6 | VanEck Bitcoin | -28.7% | 0.45% | |
7 | Betashares Bitcoin | -28.6% | 0.45% | |
8 | Global X Cybersecurity | -27.5% | 0.47% | |
9 | Global X India Nifty 50 | -21.4% | 0.69% | |
10 | Betashares Australian Tech | -20.3% | 0.48% |
Three clear clusters:
Inverse/short funds (SNAS, BBUS) — designed to go DOWN when markets go UP. With the Nasdaq rallying 17% in April alone, these got crushed. Volatility decay made it worse. See hold vs trade ETFs for why these are trading-only products.
Bitcoin ETFs (4 of them) — all roughly -29% as crypto gave back gains from late 2024 / early 2025.
India (NDIA) — Indian equities consolidated this year while Korea ran. Country bets are concentrated, and concentration cuts both ways.
What to actually buy based on this data
If you're a long-term core investor: None of the top-20 1-year performers should be your core. They're cyclical satellite plays. Your core should be something like VAS + VGS or A200 + IVV — boring but reliable. Use the top performers for satellite positions. Read how to build your core portfolio with ETFs for the framework.
If you want a gold allocation: PMGOLD at 0.15% MER is the cheapest physical gold ETF on the ASX. GDX gives leveraged exposure via miners. Both have delivered 180%+ over 5 years.
If you want electrification exposure: XMET and ACDC are the two main transition metals plays. Both around 0.69% MER. Highly cyclical — size positions small.
If you want uranium: ATOM or URNM. Same 0.69% MER. Remember uranium had a flat decade from 2011 to 2020 — these are conviction satellites, not core.
What to avoid holding long-term: Inverse/short funds (SNAS, BBUS, BBOZ) — mathematically designed to lose money in rising markets. These are for short-term hedging only.
Market-wide snapshot
Metric | Value |
|---|---|
Total ASX ETF market | $346.3B |
Number of ETFs tracked | 481 |
Average MER across all ETFs | 0.54% |
Median MER | 0.45% |
Best 1Y return | +188% (HGEN) |
Worst 1Y return | -54% (SNAS) |
Best–worst gap | 242 percentage points |
The market grew from approximately $329B (March 2026) to $346B (April 2026) — that's $17B added in a single month. The strongest inflow month we've ever tracked, driven by the broader market rally pulling in advisor and SMSF flows.
Bottom line
The "best" ETFs of the last 12 months were overwhelmingly commodity, energy transition, and cyclical thematic plays — hydrogen, oil, uranium, transition metals, miners, semiconductors, Korea. Broad index ETFs delivered respectable 15-25% returns but didn't crack the top 20.
Don't mistake this ranking for a buy list. Markets rotate. Every one of these top performers is capable of 50% drawdowns just as quickly as they rallied. The full crown-changes pattern (where category leaders rotate month-to-month) is covered in our ReviewETF Awards.
Use these results to inform your satellite allocation, not to replace your core.
The goal is compounding, not chasing.
Related reading
Best ETFs in Australia 2026 — gold, silver and bronze in every category
Hold vs trade ETFs — why inverse and geared funds are trading-only products
The ReviewETF Awards 2026 — category champions, refreshed monthly
Data current to 30 April 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.
