##  [# Best and Worst Performing ETFs of 3Q ](/sections/news/best-and-worst-performing-etfs-3q) 

 

# Best and Worst Performing ETFs of 3Q 

 

 

PFIX performed the best, while TAN trailed the pack.



 

 

 

 

 [![GabeAlpert310x310](/sites/default/files/styles/author_image_icon/public/2023-08/GabeAlpert310x310.png?itok=LtV5mb0-)](/authors/gabe-alpert) 

[By Gabe Alpert](/authors/gabe-alpert)

 Sep 29, 2023

 Edited by: Sean Allocca

 

 

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Exchange-traded funds with exposure to interest rates filled the lineup of best- and worst-performing funds for the third quarter of 2023.

The best-performing ETF in the quarter was the [**Simplify Interest Rate Hedge ETF (PFIX**](https://www.etf.com/PFIX)) which returned 52%. PFIX uses derivatives to take advantage of rising long-term interest rates. According to data from the Federal Reserve, the market yield on the 20-year U.S. Treasury bond rose 20% to 4.91% on Sept. 27, from 4.08% at the beginning of the quarter. Those high rates, however, also weighed down investment-heavy alternative energy ETFs.

A bright spot was the potential deregulation of marijuana by the U.S. federal government, which boosted cannabis ETFs.

The worst-performing ETF was the [**Invesco Solar ETF (TAN)**](https://www.etf.com/tan), which lost 25%. Inverse and leveraged funds were excluded as they are not meant to be held over long periods, and funds with fewer than $50 million in assets under management were excluded due to liquidity concerns.

## **Best Performing ETFs**

TickerName3-Month Total ReturnAssets Under Management ($M)Expense Ratio[PFIX](/PFIX)[Simplify Interest Rate Hedge ETF](/PFIX)52%2320.50%[MSOS](/MSOS)[AdvisorShares Pure US Cannabis ETF](/MSOS)46%5940.80%[URNJ](/URNJ)[Sprott Junior Uranium Miners ETF](/URNJ)44%990.80% 
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## **Worst Performing ETFs**

TickerName3-Month Total ReturnAssets Under Management ($M)Expense Ratio[TAN](/TAN)[Invesco Solar ETF](/TAN)-25%1,4800.69%[CTEC](/CTEC)[Global X CleanTech ETF](/CTEC)-24%690.50%[BKCH](/BKCH)[Global X Blockchain ETF](/BKCH)-24%570.50%
## **Rates Dim the Prospects for Solar** 

Two of the worst-performing ETFs of the quarter, TAN and the [**Global X CleanTech ETF (CTEC)**](https://www.etf.com/ctec) have been hammered by high interest rates.

“The demand environment for our products in the United States has experienced a broad-based slowdown, primarily due to high-interest rates,” said representatives from Enphase Energy, a solar company that is the top holding of both funds, in its most recent quarterly earnings report.

Part of the issue could be that solar panels require [a large up-front investment](https://www.cnet.com/home/energy-and-utilities/solar-panel-pros-and-cons-find-out-if-theyre-worth-it-for-you/) to get running, and are therefore sensitive to rises in interest rates.

The last fund in the bottom performers list, the [**Global X Blockchain ETF (BKCH)**](https://www.etf.com/BKCH), has also suffered as rates have risen. Investments that don’t offer yields, such as gold or bitcoin, become relatively less attractive as yields rise.

## **Current Events Boost Pot, Uranium**

The second and third ETFs on the best performers list have both benefitted from political shifts.

[**Marijuana ETFs**](https://www.etf.com/topics/marijuana) have jumped during the third quarter as the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recommended that marijuana be reclassified to a Schedule III, meaning it would be subject to much less restrictive regulation, a boon to the industry which has been legalized on a state level, but not federally.

[**Nuclear energy stocks**](https://www.etf.com/topics/nuclear-energy) are soaring as the price of uranium has increased by about 25% over the course of the third quarter.

*Gabriel Alpert can be contacted at gabe.alpert@etf.com.*



 

 

 [ Gabe Alpert ](/authors/gabe-alpert) 

 

 

  Gabe Alpert is a former data reporter at etf.com with over seven years’ experience in financial journalism. He also previously contributed reporting…   [View Bio](/authors/gabe-alpert)

 



 

 


 Related Topics  [Uranium](http://www.etf.com/topics/uranium) 

 [Equity](http://www.etf.com/topics/equity) 

 [Marijuana](http://www.etf.com/topics/marijuana) 

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