Best and Worst Performing ETFs in November

Crypto-exposed funds did well, while natural gas and palladium ETFs struggled

Valerio Baselli 11 December, 2023 | 10:40AM
Facebook Twitter LinkedIn

Gold trophy

In November, the list of the best performing Exchange traded products (ETPs) was topped by the Global X Blockchain UCITS ETF USD Acc (BKCH), which gained 24.6%. Overall, the ranking was dominated by the strategies exposed to digital assets.

The entire sector continued last month the rally that began in mid-October, with Bitcoin rising 41% between October 13 and November 30. Some are now saying we’re entering of a new bull market for digital currencies.

The bullish momentum was helpe by interest from institutional investors. According to data provider CCData, the average daily volume of investment products in digital assets jumped 35.3% to $481 million. This is the highest monthly volume recorded in 2023 since March.

Until recently, however, Bitcoin had outperformed other cryptocurrencies due to its characteristics as a digital alternative to gold and optimism over the approval of the spot ETF in the US. However, the market's leadership changed in November, when the rally widened beyond Bitcoin, with Avalanche and Solana coming out on top last month.

The Laggards

The worst performing ETFs in November was topped by the WisdomTree Natural Gas ETC (NGAS), which shed 29.3%.

The US natural gas market (Henry Hub) was pushed down by record production and forecasts of mild weather until at least December, which kept heating demand low and allowed utilities to continue injecting gas into storage. Meanwhile, even Europe, where stocks are at capacity, will have to deal with a possible winter resurgence in energy prices.

Finally, palladium – an industrial metal used mainly by the automotive industry – saw its value drop below $1,000 an ounce in November for the first time in five years. Demand is in fact falling due to the slowdown in car sales, the rise of electric vehicles and the switch to the cheaper platinum.

The Biggest ETFs

Monthly top and flop performers often coincide with very volatile and therefore risky products, which should play a satellite role in your portfolio. As such, we also include an overview of the biggest European-domiciled ETPs in terms of assets, which could be more appropriate to consider among core holdings. Performance in November 2023 range from +5.3% for the iShares Core MSCI Europe UCITS ETF EUR Dist (IMEU), down to the Invesco Physical Gold ETC (SGLD),which lost 2.3%.  

Methodology

According to Morningstar data, there are around 54 percentage points between the best and worst performing Exchange-traded products (ETPs) in November, with returns for the month ranging from 24.6% to -29.3%.

We have looked at the key trends in the eleventh month of the year, excluding inverse and leveraged funds. These instruments, being purely passive products, reflect the evolution of the markets without the bias (good or bad) of an active manager.

The information contained within is for educational and informational purposes ONLY. It is not intended nor should it be considered an invitation or inducement to buy or sell a security or securities noted within nor should it be viewed as a communication intended to persuade or incite you to buy or sell security or securities noted within. Any commentary provided is the opinion of the author and should not be considered a personalised recommendation. The information contained within should not be a person's sole basis for making an investment decision. Please contact your financial professional before making an investment decision.

Facebook Twitter LinkedIn

About Author

Valerio Baselli

Valerio Baselli  is Senior International Editor at Morningstar.

© Copyright 2024 Morningstar, Inc. All rights reserved.

Terms of Use        Privacy Policy        Modern Slavery Statement        Cookie Settings        Disclosures