Investing
in
a
thematic
fund
is
an
easy
way
to
gain
exposure
to
a
trend
you
believe
in,
but
how
are
these
funds
really
performing?
As
part
of
our
special
report
week
on
thematic
investing,
we
reveal
are
the
best
and
worst
returning
funds
of
the
past
year.
There
are
444
open-ended
and
exchange-traded
funds
that
are
accessible
to
UK
investors.
For
this
article,
we
have
looked
at
the
one-year
performance
of
the
295
open-ended
thematic
funds
as
well
as
the
149
thematic
ETFs
that
are
available
for
sale
to
UK
investors.
For
open-ended
funds,
returns
vary
by
over
110%
from
71%
to
-42%.
Meanwhile,
for
thematic
ETFs,
the
range
of
returns
vary
by
200%,
from
growing
by
141%
to
losing
59%.
We
have
previously
asked
whether
unique
ETFs
like
thematics
are
investable,
and
whether
they
should
play
a
role
in
your
portfolio.
Morningstar’s
senior
analyst
Kenneth
Lamont
then
pointed
out
that
if
you
are
looking
to
invest
in
themed
funds,
even
more
diligence
and
research
is
needed
than
normal.
He
said:
“Remain
sceptical.
Investors
should
look
beyond
a
compelling
narrative
when
assessing
these
funds.
Understand
how
the
fund
tracks
its
chosen
theme,
is
it
worth
the
extra
fee?
Crucially,
understand
that
these
funds
can
provide
outsized
returns,
but
this
comes
with
significant
risk
and
that
they
should
only
form
a
small
portion
of
a
portfolio.”
The
Best
Performing
Thematic
Funds
VanEck
Crypto&Blckchan
Innovtr
ETF
A
USD
•
Morningstar
Category:
EAA
Fund
Sector
Equity
Technology
•
Sub-Theme:
Blockchain
•
Medalist
Rating:
Bronze
The
passively
managed
VanEck
Crypto
&
Blockchain
Innovators
UCITS
ETF
(DAPP)
ended
the
past
year
up
141.96%,
outperforming
the
average
fund
in
the
equity
technology
category,
which
rose
25.67%.
The
£101.9
million
fund
has
gained
12.92%
year
to
date,
while
the
average
fund
in
its
category
is
up
8.56%.
Global
X
Blockchain
ETF
USD
Acc
•
Morningstar
Category:
EAA
Fund
Sector
Equity
Technology
•
Sub-Theme:
Blockchain
•
Medalist
Rating:
Bronze
Over
the
past
year,
the
passively
managed
Global
X
Blockchain
UCITS
ETF
(BKCH)
rose
129.9%,
while
the
average
equity
technology
fund
gained
25.67%.
The
£11.7
million
fund
has
climbed
10.54%
year
to
date,
outperforming
the
average
fund
in
its
category,
which
rose
8.56%.
WisdomTree
Blockchain
UCITS
ETF
USD
Acc
•
Morningstar
Category:
EAA
Fund
Other
Equity
•
Sub-Theme:
Blockchain
•
Medalist
Rating:
None
The
WisdomTree
Blockchain
UCITS
ETF
USD
Acc
(WBLK)
was
launched
in
2022.
Over
the
past
one
year,
the
ETF
was
up
103.15%.
Meanwhile,
from
the
start
of
2024
to
the
end
of
March,
the
fund
grew
17.95%.
The
£2.8
million
fund
is
the
third
best
performer
so
far
this
year
of
the
thematic
top
10.
iShares
Blockchain
Technology
ETF
USDCap
•
Morningstar
Category:
EAA
Fund
Sector
Equity
Technology
•
Sub-Theme:
Blockchain
•
Medalist
Rating:
Gold
The
passively
managed
iShares
Blockchain
Technology
UCITS
ETF
(BLKC)
ended
the
past
year
up
91.21%,
outperforming
the
average
fund
in
the
equity
technology
category,
which
rose
25.67%.
The
£38.7
million
fund
has
lost
4.94%
year
to
date,
while
the
average
fund
in
its
category
is
up
8.56%.
Grayscale
Future
of
Finance
ETF
USD
Acc
•
Morningstar
Category:
EAA
Fund
Sector
Equity
Financial
Services
•
Sub-Theme:
Blockchain
•
Medalist
Rating:
Neutral
The
£1.3
million
Grayscale
Future
of
Finance
UCITS
ETF
(GFOF)
rose
77.22%
over
the
past
year.
The
gain
on
the
passively
managed
fund
beat
the
25.88%
gain
on
the
average
fund
in
the
equity
financial
services
category.
Year
to
date,
the
HANetf
fund
is
up
5.86%,
while
the
average
fund
in
its
category
is
up
9.6%.
The
Worst
Performing
Thematic
Funds
Electric
Vehicle
Charging
Infras
ETF
Acc
•
Morningstar
Category:
EAA
Fund
Sector
Equity
Infrastructure
•
Sub-Theme:
Charging
Infrastructure
•
Medalist
Rating:
Bronze
Over
the
past
year,
the
passively
managed
Electric
Vehicle
Charging
Infrastructure
UCITS
ETF
(ELEC)
fell
59.19%,
while
the
average
equity
infrastructure
fund
lost
0.78%.
The
£1.1
million
fund
has
dropped
18.35%
year
to
date,
underperforming
the
average
fund
in
its
category,
which
rose
0.11%.
Global
X
Hydrogen
ETF
USD
Acc
•
Morningstar
Category:
EAA
Fund
Sector
Other
Equity
•
Sub-Theme:
Hydrogen
Economy
•
Medalist
Rating:
None
Global
X
Hydrogen
ETF
USD
Acc
(HYGN)
tracks
the
Solactive
Global
Hydrogen
v2
USD
index
and
over
the
past
one
year
period,
it
has
fallen
51.93%.
The
£3.6
million
ETF,
which
launched
in
2022,
fell
20.29%
this
year
alone.
Invesco
Solar
Energy
ETF
•
Morningstar
Category:
EAA
Fund
Sector
Alternative
Energy
•
Sub-Theme:
Solar
•
Medalist
Rating:
Neutral
Over
the
past
year,
the
passively
managed
Invesco
Solar
Energy
UCITS
ETF
(ISUN)
fell
42.99%,
while
the
average
equity
alternative
energy
fund
lost
17.57%.
The
£51.1
million
fund
has
dropped
14.58%
year
to
date,
falling
further
than
the
average
fund
in
its
category,
which
fell
4.77%.
Global
X
Solar
ETF
USD
Acc
•
Morningstar
Category:
EAA
Fund
Sector
Alternative
Energy
•
Sub-Theme:
Solar
•
Medalist
Rating:
Neutral
The
passively
managed
Global
X
Solar
UCITS
ETF
(RAYZ)
ended
the
past
year
down
42.5%,
falling
further
than
the
average
fund
in
the
equity
alternative
energy
category,
which
fell
17.57%.
The
£2.5
million
fund
has
lost
9.48%
year
to
date,
while
the
average
fund
in
its
category
is
down
4.77%.
BNP
Paribas
Env
Abs
Rtn
Th
Eq
EAR
Cl
C
•
Morningstar
Category:
EAA
Fund
Long/Short
Equity
–
Global
•
Sub-Theme:
Broad
Thematic
•
Medalist
Rating:
None
BNP
Paribas
Environmental
Absolute
Return
Thematic
Equity
is
the
worst
performer
out
of
three
open-ended
funds
in
the
bottom
10
list,
losing
42.46%
over
the
past
one
year,
22.40%
of
which
was
this
year.
The
£12.5
million
fund
has
an
ongoing
charge
of
1.83%
and
is
the
cheapest
of
the
three
active
funds.
As
part
of
our
mission
to
put
more
information
into
the
hands
of
investors,
this
article
was
partially
generated
by
Wordsmith,
an
automated
smart-text
platform,
using
Morningstar’s
data.
Written
and
edited
by
Sunniva
Kolostyak.
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