etf.com's Top 25 ETFs to Watch in 2025

With a full slate of financial and economic issues for investors to watch this year, we aim to help clarify the investing picture with our selection of ETFs worth watching in 2025.

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ETF.com
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Reviewed by: Kent Thune
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Edited by: Paul Curcio

2025 is already shaping up as a tough call for investors: a new president with an aggressive economic agenda; an outlook on the U.S.'s role in global events that's far removed from his predecessor's; cryptocurrency ETFs moving into the mainstream; and whether to choose stocks or bonds as inflation and interest rates pressure investing choices.

With these issues in mind, five etf.com staffers each selected five exchange-traded funds that they think are worth monitoring as the year progresses.

Kristin Myers, Editor-in-Chief: Growth, Bitcoin, and Gold 

  • YieldMax NVDA Option Income Strategy ETF (NVDY): Investors continuing to look for exposure to Nvidia need to look no further than NVDY, an ETF whose one-year performance tops 100%. But with concerns growing about Nvidia’s ability to soar this year, the covered call fund is for any investors looking for stability amid the AI chipmaker’s wild ride.  
  • Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ): As investors continue to hope that AI and tech will continue to grow in 2025, the one ETF that everyone can look to is tech ETF darling, QQQ. With allocations to food and beverage, hospitality, and transportation companies, QQQ can mitigate downside risks that being tech-heavy can bring.  
  • Pimco Active Bond ETF (BOND): All eyes are going to be on the Fed this year, and with that attention comes interest in bond ETFs. There are many questions surrounding the Fed this year, and investors not looking to delve into this nuance themselves can check out active fixed-income ETFs, like BOND. 
  • STKD Bitcoin & Gold ETF (BTGD): Both gold and bitcoin hit record highs in 2024, and it’s believed that bitcoin could continue to surpass last year's levels in 2025. BTGD offers equal exposure to both bitcoin and gold, which could be a strong performer this year, especially with a crypto-loving president in the White House. 
  • Range Nuclear Renaissance Index ETF (NUKZ): 2024’s breakout star has to be on the list for this year. The fund, which launched just one year ago, has pulled in roughly $123 million since last January, and its performance has jumped 70% since launch. Nuclear power demand has been on the rise, and NUKZ is looking to keep glowing (see what I did there?) in 2025. 

Sumit Roy, Senior Analyst: Fixed Income, Crypto, and China

  • iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF (TLT): Who would have thought that in the period in which the Fed cut interest rates by a full percentage point, yields on Treasury bonds would surge? But that’s precisely what happened, sending Treasury bond ETFs like TLT plummeting over the past few months. Will bond yields decisively shoot past 5%, leading to another down year for the interest-sensitive bond ETF?
  • iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT): The fastest ETF to reach $50 billion in assets under management, no exchange-traded fund encapsulates the rapid rise of bitcoin funds more than IBIT. If demand for bitcoin ETFs remains robust in 2025, IBIT has a chance to top the $75 billion SPDR Gold Trust (GLD) in AUM this year.
  • iShares Ethereum Trust (ETHA): In contrast to the sizzling demand for spot bitcoin ETFs, spot ether ETFs got off to a slow start: ETHA, the ether exchange-traded fund with the largest inflows since spot ether ETFs’ debut last year, has seen $3.7 billion of inflows. Will things turn around in 2025 or will bitcoin and bitcoin ETFs continue to dominate?
  • Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO): The first ETF to register $100 billion of inflows in a single calendar year, VOO is aiming for another milestone this year: become the world’s largest ETF. With less than $30 billion separating VOO from the current top dog, the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY), the Vanguard ETF has a good shot at dethroning SPY this year.
  • iShares MSCI China ETF (MCHI): China ETFs surged in September after the Chinese government promised to support the economy and markets with stimulus, but the rally fizzled as investors questioned whether stimulus could truly make a difference for an economy grappling with a massive property bust and sharply slowing growth. A likely trade war between the U.S. and China during the start of Trump’s second term further raises the stakes for Chinese exchange-traded funds. 

Jeff Benjamin, Wealth Management Editor: Equal Weight, Buffer ETFs

  • Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight ETF (RSP): The equal weight exposure to the broad market index will gain appeal if the strength of the Magnificent Seven stocks start to founder as part of a slowdown for technology sector stocks. 
  • AllianzIM Buffer20 Allocation ETF (SPBW): The latest sweetener atop the wildly popular buffer ETF category, this is a fund of buffer ETFs that lets financial advisors set it and forget it in client portfolios, instead of having to regularly buy new buffers as the ETFs mature. 
  • Calamos Bitcoin Structured Alt Protection ETF (CBOJ): Scheduled to start trading by the end of January, CBOJ offers exposure to bitcoin with 100% downside protection in exchange for a 10% cap on upside performance. It’s crypto exposure for investors who aren’t comfortable with volatility. 
  • Invesco Solar ETF (TAN): If solar energy investing wasn’t already among the weakest investment strategies, a case could be made as to how it will be worse under a Trump administration that plans to refocus on fossil fuels. 
  • SPDR S&P Homebuilders ETF (XHB): Home construction has been considered a rich investment opportunity since 2023. The devastating wildfires that spread across Southern California make that case even stronger. 

Kent Thune, Research Lead: Financials, Value, Ultra-Short Bonds

  • Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLF): With big banks like JPMorgan Chase & Co. reporting record earnings in 2024, financials have the wind at their backs while Trump’s deregulatory stance, plus a higher-for-longer rate environment, should continue to support the sector in 2025. 
  • Vanguard Value ETF (VTV): U.S. largecap value stocks may outperform the broader stock market in 2025 as economic conditions stabilize and investors favor value-oriented sectors like financials, energy, and industrials, rather than the high-priced megacap growth stocks that dominate the S&P 500 index. 
  • iShares 0-3 Month Treasury Bond ETF (SGOV): Ultra-short-term Treasury ETFs like SGOV may prove to be a smart fixed income choice in 2025 due to its low sensitivity to interest rate fluctuations and attractive yields driven by short-term rates, making it an appealing option in uncertain or rising-rate environments. 
  • U.S. Global Jets ETF (JETS): Riding the tailwinds of record profits in 2024, JETS may outperform in 2025 if rising consumer demand for travel, sustained economic recovery, and declining fuel costs continue to boost airline revenues and profitability. 
  • Defiance Quantum ETF (QTUM): Investors willing to endure the potential for extreme volatility in the short term may consider QTUM as a long-term holding as breakthroughs in quantum technology are not fully developed but promise to take artificial intelligence-like computing to a new level in the not-too-distant future. 

DJ Shaw, Finance Reporter: Semiconductors, Gaming

  • VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH): SMH provides targeted exposure to leading companies in the semiconductor industry, which powers technologies like artificial intelligence, electric vehicles, and cloud computing. Chips have remained in high demand, but supply chain vulnerabilities and potential tariffs could pose challenges to the industry.  
  • iShares Global Clean Energy ETF (ICLN): ICLN offers a portfolio of companies leading the transition to renewable energy and sustainability. With a potential Trump administration possibly hostile to clean energy policies, headwinds could slow the sector’s momentum.
  • Vanguard Growth ETF (VUG): VUG focuses on U.S. large-cap growth stocks, including tech and consumer giants that have driven market gains. Stabilizing interest rates could act as a tailwind for these growth-oriented companies. 
  • Roundhill Magnificent Seven ETF (MAGS): MAGS tracks the performance of seven of the largest and most influential tech companies driving global innovation. Concentrated exposure to these tech giants could be a tailwind, especially if AI and cloud computing trends continue to accelerate.  
  • VanEck Video Gaming and eSports ETF (ESPO): ESPO delivers exposure to video gaming and e-sports companies, benefiting from the booming entertainment and gaming industries. Continued innovation in gaming technologies and growing consumer spending could support a favorable outlook for 2025.  

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