Our top pick for
Beginners

Finder is committed to editorial independence. While we receive compensation when you click links to partners, they do not influence our content.
Updated . What changed?
Regardless of your financial goals, you may occasionally want to make some changes to which ETFs you invest in. Diversifying your securities and stocks can give you exposure to areas in the market you might otherwise miss.
We update this page monthly to keep it accurate as the market shifts. Because the stock market is naturally volatile, some of these may have shifted since we last updated this page at the beginning of the month. The ETFs on this page are all US ETFs, and we ranked them based solely on their returns.
As of January 2021, the top performing ETFs so far this year are:
Symbol | ETF name | YTD returns | Annual dividend yield |
---|---|---|---|
FNGU | MicroSectors FANG+â„¢ Index 3X Inverse Leveraged ETN | 379.33% | 0.00% |
FNGO | MicroSectors FANG+ Index 2X Leveraged ETN | 238.00% | 0.00% |
PBW | Invesco WilderHill Clean Energy ETF | 204.79% | 0.45% |
QCLN | First Trust NASDAQ Clean Edge Green Energy Index Fund | 183.97% | 0.30% |
ARKG | ARK Genomic Revolution ETF | 180.38% | 0.82% |
ARKW | ARK Next Generation Internet ETF | 157.43% | 1.28% |
ARKK | ARK Innovation ETF | 152.70% | 1.61% |
ACES | ALPS Clean Energy ETF | 140.31% | 0.56% |
WEBL | Daily Dow Jones Internet Bull 3X Shares | 132.56% | 0.03% |
IBUY | Amplify Online Retail ETF | 123.78% | 0.15% |
Source: ETF Database
As of January 2021, the top performing ETFs over the last year are:
Symbol | ETF name | 1-year returns | Annual dividend yield |
---|---|---|---|
FNGU | MicroSectors FANG+â„¢ Index 3X Inverse Leveraged ETN | 379.33% | 0.00% |
FNGO | MicroSectors FANG+ Index 2X Leveraged ETN | 238.00% | 0.00% |
PBW | Invesco WilderHill Clean Energy ETF | 204.79% | 0.45% |
QCLN | First Trust NASDAQ Clean Edge Green Energy Index Fund | 183.97% | 0.30% |
ARKG | ARK Genomic Revolution ETF | 180.38% | 0.82% |
ARKW | ARK Next Generation Internet ETF | 157.43% | 1.28% |
ARKK | ARK Innovation ETF | 152.70% | 1.61% |
ACES | ALPS Clean Energy ETF | 140.31% | 0.56% |
WEBL | Daily Dow Jones Internet Bull 3X Shares | 132.56% | 0.03% |
IBUY | Amplify Online Retail ETF | 123.78% | 0.15% |
Source: ETF Database
As of January 2021, the top performing ETFs over the last five years are:
Symbol | ETF name | 5-year returns | Annual dividend yield |
---|---|---|---|
SOXL | Direxion Daily Semiconductor Bull 3x Shares | 1599.25% | 0.05% |
TECL | Direxion Daily Technology Bull 3X Shares | 986.26% | 0.55% |
TQQQ | ProShares UltraPro QQQ | 821.28% | 0.02% |
USD | ProShares Ultra Semiconductors | 620.50% | 0.14% |
ROM | ProShares Ultra Technology | 617.24% | 0.35% |
ARKW | ARK Next Generation Internet ETF | 608.68% | 1.28% |
ARKK | ARK Innovation ETF | 512.78% | 1.61% |
QLD | ProShares Ultra QQQ | 475.88% | 0.05% |
ARKG | ARK Genomic Revolution ETF | 380.81% | 0.82% |
PBW | Invesco WilderHill Clean Energy ETF | 368.14% | 0.45% |
Source: ETF Database
With thousands of ETFs in the US exchange to choose from, finding the best ones that fit your portfolio and investing strategy can help protect you from loss. Some points to consider when deciding which ETFs are best for you.
Our top pick for
Beginners
Our top pick for
Building a portfolio
Our top pick for
Mobile users
There’s a direct correlation between high fees and an ETF’s overall performance. When fees are higher, returns tend to be lower and vice versa. There are two main costs involved when investing in listed funds: brokerage and management fees.
To find a platform that offers the lowest fees, you’ll first need to decide how much you want to invest in the fund and how many lump sums you’ll be investing over a year. If it’s just one lump sum, a platform that doesn’t charge an inactivity fee will be key. If you plan on frequently adding small amounts, the brokerage fee itself will be more important.
Brokerage fees range from around $0 to $5 per transaction and ETF fees range from about 0.05% to 2.5%.
Once you’ve considered the risks of investing in ETFs and worked out your financial goals, you can buy and sell units in an ETF like any stock on the stock market through a fund manager or an online trading platform.
To invest in ETFs through an online trading platform, you’ll need to do the following:
Business cycles, demographic trends and bull or bear markets can often last for years, so ETFs with strong momentum sometimes continue to perform strongly — and vice versa.
Comparing recent performance of ETFs can help inform your investment planning and provide you with ideas for where to invest your money. From there, continue to research your investment choices and be as thorough with the trading platforms and services you consider.
If you don’t need your money right now, consider investing in an HSA, blue chip stocks and more.
Cruise ship stocks are sailing through murky waters, but can they rise?
Transportation stocks can be wise investments. But they can also be very volatile. Learn more.
What to consider before you invest in biotechnology companies.
Benefits and risks to investing in electric, gas and water companies.
Major benefits and risks to consider before you invest in telecom services.
What the Russell 2000 tracks and how to invest.
If you don’t have any bad debt and are ready for an emergency, here are several options for where to invest next.
Invest, trade and diversify with one of the world’s most popular market indices — the top 500 largest US companies within 10+ sectors.
Find out how you can invest in the second-oldest stock market index, the Dow Jones.