Best Performing ETFs of the Last 1, 3, 5, and 10 Years

These are the best-performing ETFs over the last 3 months, 6 months, one year, three years, five years, and 10 years.

All ETFs on the list meet the following basic requirements:

Non-leveraged
At least 100K in daily average volume.
Traded on U.S. exchanges.

These criteria are used to avoid ETFs with very low volume. Also, while leveraged ETFs may provide big returns in the short-term, many do not fair well over the long-term, and witness significant drawdowns as well.

All data is sourced from StockRover as of September 14, 2023. Returns include dividends and assume reinvestment. These lists are updated near the start of each month.

If more than one ETF tracking the same investment/industry is on the list, only the top-performing one is included in the numbered list. The tickers of the other ETFs tracking a similar thing, and which have returns higher than the next ETF on the numbered list, are included in the Additional ETFs & Return column.

Best Performing ETFs Over the Last 3 Months

These are the top-performing ETFs over the last three months, as of September 14, 2023.

	Ticker	ETF Name	3-Month Performance	Average Volume (3 Months)	Dividend Yield	Additional ETFs & Return
1	MSOS	AdvisorShares Pure US Cannabis ETF	63.9%	4.7 million	0%	MJ: 44.8% MJUS: 43.3%
2	XES	SPDR S&P 500 Oil & Gas Equipment & Service ETF	34.2%	0.11 million	0.4%
3	TUR	iShares MSCI Turkey ETF	32.4%	0.16 million	3.3%
4	USO	United States Oil Fund	31.2%	2.7 million	0%	DBO: 30.5% BNO: 29.6%
5	URNM	Sprott Uranium Miners ETF	29.1%	0.35 million	0%

Best Performing ETFs Over the Last 6 Months

These are the top-performing ETFs over the last six months, as of September 14, 2023.

	Ticker	ETF Name	6-Month Performance	Average Volume (3 Months)	Dividend Yield	Additional ETFs & Return
1	SVXY	ProShares Short VIX Short-Term Futures ETF	55.3%	1.5 million	0%
2	URNM	Sprott Uranium Miners ETF	44.6%	0.35 million	0%
3	FNGS	MicroSectors FANG+ ETN	41.5%	1.5 million	0%
4	MSOS	AdvisorShares Pure US Cannabis ETF	39.7%	4.7 million	0%
5	DXJ	WisdomTree Japan Hedged Equity Fund	34.1%	0.68 million	2.9%

You may also want to check out the Best Performing Stocks list

Best Performing ETFs Over the Last 1 Year

These are the top-performing ETFs over the last year, as of September 14, 2023

	Ticker	ETF Name	1-Year Performance	Average Volume (3 Months)	Dividend Yield	Additional ETFs & Return
1	SVXY	ProShares Short VIX Short-Term Futures ETF	79.8%	1.5 million	0%
2	TUR	iShares MSCI Turkey ETF	68.8%	0.16 million	3.3%
3	XES	SPDR S&P Oil & Gass Equipment & Services ETF	56.7%	0.1 million	0.4%
4	ITB	iShares US Home Construction ETF	55.4%	2.8 million	0.5%
5	FNGS	MicroSectors FANG+ ETN	54.4%	0.21million	0%

Best Performing ETFs Over the Last 3 Years

These are the top-performing ETFs over the last three years, as of September 14, 2023

	Ticker	ETF Name	3-Year Performance	Average Volume (3 Months)	Dividend Yield	Additional ETFs & Return
1	FCG	First Trust Natural Gas ETF	364.3%	0.29 million	3.3%
2	IEO	iShares US Oil & Gas Exploration and Production ETF	298.2%	0.12 million	3.6%	XOP: 267.4%
3	FXN	First Trust Energy AlphaDEX Fund	241.4%	1.6 million	3.1%	VDE: 239.6% FENY: 237.1%
4	OIH	VanEck Oil Services ETF	232.9%	0.53 million	0.8%	XES: 231.6%
5	BNO	United States Brent Oil Fund, LP	214.6%	0.46 million	0%

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Best Performing ETFs Over the Last 5 Years

These are the top-performing ETFs over the last five years, as of September 14, 2023

	Ticker	ETF Name	5-Year Performance	Average Volume (3 Months)	Dividend Yield	Additional ETFs & Return
1	SMH	VanEck Semiconductor ETF	203.7%	6.9 million	0.8%	SOXX: 182.8%
2	TAN	Invesco Solar ETF	174.2%	0.73 million	0%
3	XLK	Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund	142.6%	6.3 million	0.8%
4	QCLN	First Trust Nasdaq Clean Edge Green Energy Index ETF	138.2%	0.18 million	0.8%
5	URA	Global X Uranium ETF	133.3%	1.4 million	0.2%

Best Performing ETFs Over the Last 10 Years

These are the top-performing ETFs over the last 10 years, as of September 14, 2023

	Ticker	ETF Name	10-Year Performance	Average Volume (3 Months)	Dividend Yield	Additional ETFs & Return
1	SMH	VanEck Semiconductors ETF	774.5%	6.9 million	0.8%	SOXX: 744.2%
2	XLK	Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund	515.6%	6.3 million	0.8%	VGT: 507% IYW: 475.4%
3	IXN	iShares Global Tech ETF	437%	0.17 million	0.6%	QQQ: 429.4% QTEC: 412% IGV: 386.3% RSPT: 362.3%
4	IWY	iShares Russell Top 200 Growth ETF	352.2%	0.27 million	0.6%
5	MGK	Vanguard Mega Cap Growth Index Fund ETF	310.4%	0.27 million	0.5%	SCHG: 309.4%

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How to Scan for the Best Performing ETFs

Scanning for the best-performing ETFs is straightforward and doesn’t require buying any special software.

Using a free site like Finviz, click the Screener button. Under the Descriptive tab, go to Industry and select Exchange Traded Fund. Also under the Descriptive tab, select Average Volume over 100K.

Then, click the Performance tab just above the list of ETFs. This will show how all the ETFs on the list have performed on various time frames. Sort the list by one year (Perf Year) to see the top-performing ETFs over the last year.

This is just an example of how to scan for ETFs using a stock screener. Many other scanners work in a similar way.

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Disclaimer: Nothing in this article is personal investment advice, or advice to buy or sell anything. Trading is risky and can result in substantial losses, even more than deposited if using leverage. Data is sourced from third parties and is intended for information purposes only. There may be errors in data, so check with other sources before relying on such data.