The Best ETFs of 2025 for UK Investors

Exchange-traded funds, or ETFs, are often low-cost instruments for investors to track popular indexes or leverage experienced manager choices to beat the market. The best ones serve as low-cost building blocks in a portfolio, and unlike open-end mutual funds, all ETFs are traded throughout the day on an exchange.

In 2025, the top-performing ETFs included equity precious metals funds L&G Gold Mining AUCO and VanEck Junior Gold Miners GDXJ. Data in this article is sourced from Morningstar Direct.

Screening for the Best-Performing ETFs

When evaluating ETFs, investors should focus on long-term returns across multiple years and market cycles. However, short-term returns can provide valuable information about biases within strategies.

To find the year’s best-performing ETFs, we screened those in Morningstar’s equity, allocation, or fixed-income categories that are available in the UK. We excluded ETFs with less than USD 25 million (£18.5 million) in total assets. We also excluded funds that fall into Morningstar’s “trading” categories, as these funds are designed for active traders and are not suitable for long-term investors.

Within our list, eight funds fell into the equity precious metals category, where the average name rose 144.52% in 2025.

The 10 Best-Performing ETFs for 2025

1. L&G Gold Mining UCITS ETF AUCO
2. VanEck Junior Gold Miners UCITS ETF GDXJ
3. Global X Silver Miners UCITS ETF SILV
4. USSolactive Global Pure Gold Miners UCITS ETF GGMUSY
5. VanEck Gold Miners UCITS ETF GDX
6. Market Access NYSE Arca Gold BUSIndex UCITS ETF M9SD
7. iShares Gold Producers UCITS ETF USD (Acc) IAUP
8. Gold Miners Screened UCITS ETF ESGO
9. iShares EURO STOXX Banks 30-15 UCITS ETF (DE) EXX1
10. Amundi Euro Stoxx Banks UCITS ETF BNKE

Metrics for the Best-Performing ETFsL&G Gold Mining UCITS ETF

The £618.8 million L&G Gold Mining was the best-performing ETF in 2025, with a 161.52% gain. The passively managed Legal & General ETF beat the 144.52% gain on the average fund in Morningstar’s equity precious metals category for the year. Over the last three years, the fund has gained 51.17%, outperforming the 40.48% gain on funds in its category, placing it in the 11th percentile for the period.

The Neutral-rated L&G Gold Mining UCITS ETF was launched in September 2008.

VanEck Junior Gold Miners UCITS ETF

• Morningstar Rating: ★★
• Expense Ratio: 0.55%
• Morningstar Category: Equity Precious Metals

The £979.2 million VanEck Junior Gold Miners ranked second for the year, returning 155.31%. The VanEck ETF, which is passively managed, beat the 144.52% gain on the average equity precious metals fund. Over the past three years, the fund has risen 44.87%, outperforming the 40.48% gain on funds in its category, placing it in the 30th percentile for the period.

The Neutral-rated VanEck Junior Gold Miners UCITS ETF was launched in March 2015.

Global X Silver Miners UCITS ETF

• Morningstar Rating: ★★
• Expense Ratio: 0.7%
• Morningstar Category: Equity Precious Metals

The £983.7 million Global X Silver Miners was the third best-performing ETF in 2025, with a 152.92% gain. The passively managed Global X ETF beat the 144.52% gain on the average fund in Morningstar’s equity precious metals category for the year. Over the last three years, the fund has gained 40.23%, performing roughly in line with the 40.48% gain on funds in its category, placing it in the 61st percentile for the period.

The Global X Silver Miners UCITS ETF has a Negative Morningstar Medalist Rating, meaning that our analysts expect it to be one of the worst performers within its category and think it is unlikely to deliver positive returns after fees.

USSolactive Global Pure Gold Miners UCITS ETF

• Morningstar Rating: ★★★★
• Expense Ratio: 0.4%
• Morningstar Category: Equity Precious Metals

The £485.1 million USSolactive Global Pure Gold Miners ranked fourth for the year, returning 152.62%. The UBS ETF, which is passively managed, beat the 144.52% gain on the average equity precious metals fund. Over the past three years, the fund has risen 50.18%, outperforming the 40.48% gain on funds in its category, placing it in the 16th percentile for the period.

The Neutral-rated USSolactive Global Pure Gold Miners UCITS ETF was launched in November 2012.

VanEck Gold Miners UCITS ETF

• Morningstar Rating: ★★★
• Expense Ratio: 0.53%
• Morningstar Category: Equity Precious Metals

The £2.6 billion VanEck Gold Miners was the fifth best-performing ETF in 2025, with a 138.06% gain. The passively managed VanEck ETF performed roughly in line with the 144.52% gain on the average fund in Morningstar’s equity precious metals category for the year. Over the last three years, the fund has gained 40.45%, performing roughly in line with the 40.48% gain on funds in its category, placing it in the 56th percentile for the period.

The VanEck Gold Miners UCITS ETF has not yet been awarded a Morningstar Medalist Rating.

Market Access NYSE Arca Gold BUSIndex UCITS ETF

• Morningstar Rating: ★★★
• Expense Ratio: 0.83%
• Morningstar Category: Equity Precious Metals

The £93.7 million Market Access NYSE Arca Gold BUSIndex ranked sixth for the year, returning 136.83%. The Market Access Asset Management ETF, which is passively managed, lagged the 144.52% gain on the average equity precious metals fund. Over the past three years, the fund has risen 40.15%, performing roughly in line with the 40.48% gain on funds in its category, placing it in the 62nd percentile for the period.

The Neutral-rated Market Access NYSE Arca Gold BUSIndex UCITS ETF was launched in January 2007.

iShares Gold Producers UCITS ETF

• Morningstar Rating: ★★★
• Expense Ratio: 0.55%
• Morningstar Category: Equity Precious Metals

The seventh best-performing ETF in 2025 was the £3.5 billion iShares Gold Producers. The passively managed iShares ETF returned 136.70%, underperforming the average equity precious metals fund, which gained 144.52%. Over the last three years, the fund has climbed 41.02%, performing roughly in line with the 40.48% gain on funds in its category, placing it in the 53rd percentile for the period.

The Neutral-rated iShares Gold Producers UCITS ETF was launched in September 2011.

Gold Miners Screened UCITS ETF

• Morningstar Rating: ★★
• Expense Ratio: 0.6%
• Morningstar Category: Equity Precious Metals

The £48.6 million Gold Miners Screened ranked eighth for the year, returning 135.24%. The HANetf ETF, which is passively managed, lagged the 144.52% gain on the average equity precious metals fund. Over the past three years, the fund has risen 34.91%, underperforming the 40.48% gain on funds in its category, placing it in the 75th percentile for the period.

The Neutral-rated Gold Miners Screened UCITS ETF was launched in July 2021.

iShares EURO STOXX Banks 30-15 UCITS ETF

• Morningstar Rating: ★★★★
• Expense Ratio: 0.51%
• Morningstar Category: Equity Financial Services

The ninth best-performing ETF in 2025 was the £2.2 billion iShares EURO STOXX Banks 30-15. The passively managed iShares ETF returned 101.24%, outperforming the average equity financial services fund, which gained 34.93%. Over the last three years, the fund has climbed 47.08%, outperforming the 22.06% gain on funds in its category, placing it in the third percentile for the period.

The Negative-rated iShares EURO STOXX Banks 30-15 UCITS ETF was launched in April 2001.

Amundi Euro Stoxx Banks UCITS ETF

• Morningstar Rating: ★★★★
• Expense Ratio: 0.3%
• Morningstar Category: Equity Financial Services

The £3.8 billion Amundi Euro Stoxx Banks ranked tenth for the year, returning 100.45%. The Amundi ETF, which is passively managed, beat the 34.93% gain on the average equity financial services fund. Over the past three years, the fund has risen 47.48%, outperforming the 22.06% gain on funds in its category, placing it in the second percentile for the period.

The Neutral-rated Amundi Euro Stoxx Banks UCITS ETF was launched in November 2018.

What Are ETFs?

Exchange-traded funds are investments that trade throughout the day on stock exchanges, much like individual stocks. They differ from traditional mutual funds—known as open-end funds—which can only be bought or sold at a single price each day. Historically, ETFs have tracked indexes, but in recent years, more ETFs have been actively managed. ETFs cover a range of asset classes, including stocks, bonds, commodities, and most recently cryptocurrency.

The Best ETFs: More Ideas to Consider

• Read the latest articles on ETFs.
• Use the ETF screener to find the best ETFs according to your specific criteria. You can search for funds based on their fees, Morningstar Medalist Ratings, manager tenures, and more.