Amid the recent stock market volatility and steep rises for commodity prices as the twitching tail of the pandemic meets the war in Ukraine, many investors have been shifting the shape of their portfolio holdings.
Hargreaves Lansdown, the UK's largest direct private investor platform, said its cutomers have been looking for broad exposure to fast-moving markets, in particular.
There were five such exchange-traded funds among the top 20 most bought in the year to date, picked out by Emma Wall, head of investment analysis and research.
Vanguard Funds plc S&P 500 UCITS ETF
“It has been a volatile year for the S&P 500. After delivering great gains in 2021, against a challenging backdrop of coronavirus restrictions, the US market has gone from darling to dud. But this hasn’t stopped opportunistic investors buying up the market via this ETF from passives giant Vanguard. And since mid-March they’ve been rewarded, with the US market rallying from the lows as the Federal Reserve revealed interest rate guidance which removed much uncertainty,” said Wall.
iShares plc Core FTSE 100 ETF
“The clue is in the name – this ETF is a great core holding of a well-diversified portfolio, offering investors exposure to the 100 largest companies in the UK. This includes a hefty weighing to energy, materials and industrials stocks, many of which have benefited from rising metals, oil and gas prices. The top 10 holdings include Shell, BP, Rio Tinto and Glencore.”
iShares Physical Metals plc Physical Gold ETC
“Gold has proved very popular with investors over the past month, as is often the case when market uncertainty peaks. In the week following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine investors sought out safety, buying gold ETFs, and funds invested for capital preservation. The gold price peaked at over $2,000 per troy ounce at the beginning of March, but has since come off slightly.”
iShares II plc Global Clean Energy ETF
“Despite the reord rally of oil and gas, this has not stopped investors looking to renewables for long-term gains. Fuelled by political promises to wean the UK off Russian commodities, this global clean energy ETF has been among the most bought year to date. It invests in companies involved in clean energy production or the provision of clean energy equipment & technology from both developed and emerging markets.”
Invesco Bloomberg Commodity UCITS ETF
“Given the significant rally in commodity markets, it is not surprising to see an ETF tracking the Bloomberg index among the most bought by investors year to date. It was not just oil and gas that saw record price increases; aluminium and copper hit record highs, and the price of wheat – a key export for Russia and Ukraine – soared too, as fears of a global shortage mounted. This ETF offers broad exposure to the entire sector as the Bloomberg index is composed of 24 commodities across energy, grains, industrial metals, precious metals, soft commodities and livestock. The top 10 holdings include gold, brent crude oil. Silver, copper, cattle, soy beans and corn,” said Wall.