Thematic Recap: Precious Metals Soar 6.1%, FinTech Tumbles 11.5%

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Weekly Channel Summary

This past week, the Thematic ETF channel, comprising 394 ETFs from 101 issuers, closed with $269 billion in total assets under management. The channel saw net inflows of $0.47 billion over the last 5 days, contributing to a robust $41.30 billion in year-to-date inflows. Over the past year, the channel has accumulated $44.79 billion in new assets.

This Week’s Performance Leaders and Laggards

Performance was starkly divided this week. Precious Metals was the clear leader, posting a 6.11% week-to-date (WTD) return and extending its impressive year-to-date (YTD) gain to 130.57%. On the other end of the spectrum, the FinTech category was the primary laggard, dropping 11.52% for the week, though it remains up 21.48% for the year.

Category Performance Snapshot

Category WTD 1 Month 3 Month 6 Month YTD 1 Year
Precious Metals 6.11% -3.88% 35.46% 74.43% 130.57% 125.74%
Health Innovation 3.67% 5.59% 17.41% 33.38% 19.70% 10.91%
Midstream & MLPs 1.76% 3.61% 0.88% 2.04% 7.04% 8.07%
Natural Resources 1.60% -2.71% 11.95% 29.22% 33.80% 25.11%
Alternative Equity -0.41% -2.34% -8.94% -3.71% -5.63% -2.92%
Infrastructure -1.24% -1.41% 4.84% 14.20% 19.52% 15.68%
Thematic – Multi-Sector -1.62% -2.44% 5.14% 17.76% 18.79% 19.12%
Sustainability -1.83% -0.79% 14.40% 26.13% 32.60% 29.26%
Industrial Revolution -2.21% -4.12% 5.61% 20.69% 25.10% 27.96%
Disruptive Tech -2.24% -1.67% 7.01% 19.40% 23.23% 22.79%
Evolving Consumer -3.41% -8.52% -7.30% 12.08% 10.82% 6.25%
FinTech -11.52% -20.33% 1.32% 22.02% 21.48% 17.00%

Top & Bottom 5 ETFs by Weekly Performance

The week’s best-performing ETF was the LITP Sprott Lithium Miners ETF, which surged 16.67%. The worst-performing ETFs were concentrated in the digital asset space, led by the MNRS Grayscale Bitcoin Miners ETF (-22.99%) and the STCE Schwab Crypto Thematic ETF (-22.88%).

Ticker Fund Name WTD Performance
Top Performers
LITP Sprott Lithium Miners ETF 16.67%
BBC Virtus LifeSci Biotech Clinical Trials ETF 8.44%
OZEM Roundhill GLP-1 & Weight Loss ETF 8.19%
CANC Tema Oncology ETF 8.02%
REMX VanEck Rare Earth and Strategic Metals ETF 7.81%
Bottom Performers
MNRS Grayscale Bitcoin Miners ETF -22.99%
STCE Schwab Crypto Thematic ETF -22.88%
DAPP VanEck Digital Transformation ETF -19.87%
MSOS AdvisorShares Pure US Cannabis ETF -19.60%
WEED Roundhill Cannabis ETF -19.05%

Analyzing the Weekly Flows

The Thematic channel attracted $468 million in net new assets this week. The Natural Resources category led all groups, pulling in $285 million, bringing its total AUM to $40.1 billion. Disruptive Tech also saw significant interest with $186 million in new assets. On the other side, Thematic – Multi-Sector experienced the largest outflows, shedding $216 million.

Category Flows Summary

Category Fund Count AUM 5 Day 30 Day 90 Day YTD 1 Year
Natural Resources 54 $40.1B $285M $522M $3,585M $2,835M $3,486M
Disruptive Tech 62 $53.1B $186M $2,634M $9,814M $18,888M $20,663M
Sustainability 28 $6.4B $152M $392M $679M $141M ($110M)
Infrastructure 40 $39.4B $140M $1,390M $4,082M $8,030M $9,929M
Thematic Precious Metals 14 $43.3B $131M $877M $2,230M ($1,225M) ($1,087M)
Midstream & MLPs 16 $21.0B $34M $62M $146M $1,484M $1,964M
Alternative Equity 10 $2.3B ($4M) $42M $186M $707M $875M
Industrial Revolution 34 $15.4B ($11M) $360M $2,340M $4,999M $4,964M
FinTech 24 $5.4B ($12M) ($156M) $10M $325M $525M
Health Innovation 23 $2.0B ($62M) ($47M) ($47M) ($113M) ($277M)
Evolving Consumer 45 $16.0B ($157M) ($1,493M) ($401M) ($636M) ($1,438M)
Thematic – Multi-Sector 40 $24.8B ($216M) $208M ($4,903M) $5,854M $5,285M

Top & Bottom 5 ETFs by 5-Day Flow

At the fund level, the NLR VanEck Uranium and Nuclear ETF was the week’s top asset gatherer, pulling in $124 million. The largest redemptions came from the ARKK ARK Innovation ETF (-$255 million) and the FDN First Trust Dow Jones Internet Index Fund (-$207 million).

Ticker Fund Name 5-Day Flow
Inflows
NLR VanEck Uranium and Nuclear ETF $124M
ICLN iShares Global Clean Energy ETF $104M
BAI iShares A.I. Innovation and Tech Active ETF $99M
URA Global X Uranium ETF $94M
SILJ Amplify Junior Silver Miners ETF $88M
Outflows
ARKK ARK Innovation ETF ($255M)
FDN First Trust Dow Jones Internet Index Fund ($207M)
CHAT Roundhill Generative AI & Technology ETF ($45M)
ARKW ARK Next Generation Internet ETF ($32M)
XME State Street SPDR S&P Metals & Mining ETF ($24M)

Issuer League Table Update

The top end of the issuer league table remains competitive. Global X leads by AUM with 17.71% market share, closely followed by iShares at 16.13%. iShares captured the most inflows this week, adding $325 million, while fellow top-5 issuer ARK saw the largest outflows at -$387 million.

Top 5 Issuers by AUM

Brand Fund Count AUM AUM Market Share
Global X 35 $47.69B 17.71%
iShares 33 $43.44B 16.13%
VanEck 18 $40.56B 15.06%
First Trust 30 $39.77B 14.77%
ARK 7 $13.50B 5.01%

Top & Bottom 3 Issuers by 5-Day Flow

Brand 5-Day Flow
Inflows
iShares $325M
Global X $241M
VanEck $168M
Outflows
ARK ($387M)
First Trust ($155M)
Roundhill ($33M)

For a deeper dive into these trends, access our FREE, in-depth Thematic ETF reports in the right side panel of this page.

Disclosures

This material is for informational purposes only and should not be considered investment advice. All investments, including ETFs, involve risk, including the possible loss of principal. Investors should consider their investment objectives, risks, charges, and expenses carefully before investing.

This analysis was developed by the team at ETF Action. We leverage advanced AI tools to assist in the drafting and refinement of our content, based on our expert prompts, direction, and final review.