The S&P 500 index of the largest U.S. stocks has tacked on more than 23% so far this year, and the general expectation is for momentum to remain strong as we enter 2025 thanks to what some see as a pro-business environment in Washington next year.
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However, that impressive return for the broader stock market has been topped by a number of more strategic funds this year thanks to a focus on what’s working and an avoidance of what’s not. The best-performing ETFs of 2024 are admittedly less diversified than the full list of S&P 500 components, but it’s that focus that allows for outsized returns.
The following list of ETFs represent the top 10 funds that do not take a “leveraged” approach via complicated derivative instruments, and that have a minimum of $150 million in assets to show they are legitimate and reasonably liquid funds.
There’s risk in each of these funds, to be sure, but their 2024 performance, along with these qualitative metrics, make them worth watching as some of the hottest ETFs on Wall Street right now:
| ETF | Expense ratio | AUM | Year-to-date performance |
| Global X MLP & Energy Infrastructure ETF (ticker: MLPX) | 0.45% | $2.2 billion | 40.5% |
| CoinShares Valkyrie Bitcoin Miners ETF (WGMI) | 0.75% | $220 million | 42.0% |
| UTESVirtus Reaves Utilities ETF (UTES) | 0.49% | $245 million | 51.1% |
| Roundhill Magnificent Seven ETF (MAGS) | 0.29% | $1 billion | 52.7% |
| Global X MSCI Argentina ETF (ARGT) | 0.59% | $595 million | 58.4% |
| Amplify Transformational Data Sharing ETF (BLOK) | 0.76% | $875 million | 60.3% |
| Bitwise Crypto Industry Innovators ETF (BITQ) | 0.85% | $190 million | 68.2% |
| VanEck Digital Transformation ETF (DAPP) | 0.51% | $185 million | 68.2% |
| Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) | 1.50% | $20 billion | 110.2% |
| YieldMax NVDA Option Income Strategy ETF (NVDY) | 0.99% | $1.3 billion | 120.2% |
All figures are through Nov. 18.
Global X MLP & Energy Infrastructure ETF (MLPX)
Expense ratio: 0.45%, or $45 annually on $10,000 invested Assets under management (AUM): $2.2 billion YTD performance: +40.5%
Among the best-performing ETFs of the last year is this MLP-focused fund from Global X, which holds just under 30 energy infrastructure stocks including Williams Cos. Inc. (WMB), Oneok Inc. (OKE) and Enbridge Inc. (ENB). This piece of the energy sector is always attractive thanks to reliable operations and high yields, but the fact that President-elect Donald Trump seems likely to be even more friendly to the domestic energy industry has lifted stocks in this area even further in recent weeks. Time will tell if this short-term trend lasts into the new year, but across 2024 MLPX and similar funds have done quite well.
Note: The USCF Midstream Energy Income Fund ETF (UMI) has produced similar performance in 2024.
CoinShares Valkyrie Bitcoin Miners ETF (WGMI)
Expense ratio: 0.75% AUM: $220 million YTD performance: +42% Bitcoin has delivered roughly five times the profits that the broader S&P 500 index has thus far in 2024. So it’s no surprise that one of the best-performing ETFs of the year is a fund that holds Bitcoin mining companies such as Core Scientific Inc. (CORZ), Iris Energy Ltd. (IREN) and others. Exposure via a for-profit company that owns infrastructure to create a digital asset instead of a direct investment in the asset itself naturally will not be as direct. However, WGMI has handily outpaced both the market-wide average for stocks as well as a host of leading tech stocks this year.
Virtus Reaves Utilities ETF (UTES)
Expense ratio: 0.49% AUM: $245 million YTD performance: +51.1%
Utility stocks typically don’t rank as top performers on Wall Street given their lower volatility profile and relatively sleepy operations. What’s more, in a “risk-on” market environment like we’ve seen in 2024 it makes even less sense for utility stocks to stand out. However, the prospect of booming electricity demand for next-gen technologies like artificial intelligence coupled with some big direct deals with tech leaders has sparked a rally for a number of once-boring utilities.
That’s what’s driving UTES, particularly thanks to a portfolio reliant on two particular standouts — Constellation Energy Corp. (CEG) and Vistra Corp. (VST) — which are up more than 90% and 200%, respectively, since Jan. 1. With less than 20 total utility stocks in its portfolio, this smaller sector fund has outpaced its peers to go down as one of the top-performing ETFs of the year.
Roundhill Magnificent Seven ETF (MAGS)
Expense ratio: 0.29% AUM: $1.0 billion YTD returns: +52.7%
While index funds are popular for spreading money around in a cost-effective way, the top performers on this list tend to be less about diversification and more about a focused bet on a one-dimensional theme. MAGS splits the difference in a way, by investing in a few different stocks with their own operational benefits — but via a very limited portfolio of the so-called Magnificent Seven tech leaders — Nvidia Corp. (NVDA), Google parent Alphabet Inc. (GOOGL), Apple Inc. (AAPL), Tesla Inc. (TSLA), Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN), Meta Platforms Inc. (META) and Microsoft Corp. (MSFT). For tech investors who like the sector but want only the best of the best, MAGS is a unique option that ranks among the best-performing ETFs of 2024.
Global X MSCI Argentina ETF (ARGT)
Expense ratio: 0.59% AUM: $595 million YTD performance: +58.4%
Admittedly, Argentina is a poster child for economic dysfunction. But lately the picture has been looking less bleak. While the inflation rate has declined, it’s still running pretty hot at roughly 190%. On the brighter side, the World Bank forecasted a 5% growth rate for the nation in 2025, after an expected 3.5% contraction in 2024. There is still a lot of risk here, but ARGT remains the best and perhaps only way to get broad access to Argentina-focused stocks in a single ETF. Top holdings at present include Argentinian bank Grupo Financiero Galicia SA ADR (GGAL) and Latin America’s e-commerce leader MercadoLibre Inc. (MELI), among others.
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Amplify Transformational Data Sharing ETF (BLOK)
Expense ratio: 0.76% AUM: $875 million YTD performance: +60.3%
Bitcoin has been on a tear in 2024, with a surge of roughly 120% through Nov. 18. But BLOK is not a direct play on the cryptocurrency, but rather is a blockchain-focused ETF with about 40 components that are stocks hoping to play this innovative trend. Blockchain technology has many potential applications and is a disruptive way of transforming data and communications though a unique digital record format. Cryptocurrencies are built on blockchains, but there are also other potential applications for the technology. As such, BLOK includes the more intuitive blockchain plays in the digital asset space like Coinbase Global Inc. (COIN) as well as more tangential plays like payments processor PayPal Holdings Inc. (PYPL).
Bitwise Crypto Industry Innovators ETF (BITQ)
Expense ratio: 0.85% AUM: $190 million YTD performance: +68.2%
With about 30 different stocks in its portfolio that are designed to deliver on the promise of innovation in the crypto industry, BITQ is a way to play the rise of cryptoassets without owning individual tokens or digital currencies. Top holdings at present include MicroStrategy Inc. (MSTR), a software firm that made a bold decision around 2020 to invest its corporate cash in Bitcoin, as well as cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase. The rise of Bitcoin and Ether lately has been great for investors who own the digital assets directly, but has also been a boon to companies like these across the last year or so.
VanEck Digital Transformation ETF (DAPP)
Expense ratio: 0.51% AUM: $185 million YTD performance: +68.2% Keeping with the theme of a bull market for digital assets, this VanEck ETF holds a narrow list of about 20 companies that are tactical plays on the “Web 3.0” economy. Stocks include mobile payments giant Block Inc. (SQ) as well as Bitcoin-related names like Coinbase. These are not the Silicon Valley titans that dominate most other technology ETFs, so this fund is an interesting supplemental holding to get a more direct play on the future platforms that may dominate the digital economy the way that e-mail and e-commerce did roughly two decades ago. As the broader stock market has been surging in 2024, it’s not surprising that these higher-risk but high-reward tech investments are on a roll, too.
Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC)
Expense ratio: 1.5% AUM: $20 billion YTD performance: +110.2% On Jan. 10, the. Securities and Exchange Commission approved spot Bitcoin ETFs that allowed the first funds tied directly to the digital currency rather than those tied to futures or options contracts. The GBTC fund from Grayscale gobbled up investor assets quickly thanks to a short-term discount in its fee structure, but its first-mover status has since been eclipsed by other now-larger funds as well as a more affordable spinoff — the Grayscale Bitcoin Mini Trust (BTC) — that charges significantly lower fees. All that aside, when you add up total performance the flagship GBTC fund is on top of the pile of spot Bitcoin ETFs.
Note: The ProShares Bitcoin ETF (BITO) follows a similar strategy and has produced similar performance in 2024.
YieldMax NVDA Option Income Strategy ETF (NVDY)
Expense ratio: 0.99% AUM: $1.3 billion YTD performance: +120.2%
The most focused ETF on this list also goes down as 2024’s top performer. NVDY is laser-focused on chipmaker Nvidia, using an options strategy that sells call options on the stock. Instead of moving up and down based on the asset (namely, the derivatives on NVDA stock), the fund delivers the premium from those options it sells to shareholders via distributions similar to a dividend. The plan is risky and complex, but there’s no arguing with results as the total return on this fund would have doubled your money if you invested on Jan. 1. That said, it’s worth reiterating that old line that past performance is never a guarantee of future returns and that 2025 could be very different for this boutique ETF.
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10 Best-Performing ETFs of 2024 originally appeared on usnews.com
Update 11/19/24: This story was previously published at an earlier date and has been updated with new information.
