The Best Performing ETFs of 2024

Winner: Bitcoin ETFs

As of January 2, Bitcoin sits at $96,699, following an all-time high of $106,490 on December 17. Bitcoin's surge was fueled by the launch of spot Bitcoin ETFs in January 2024, April's halving event, and President-Elect Trump's pro-crypto stance, including favorable comments and key appointments.

Unsurprisingly, the biggest ETF winners of 2024 came from this niche. Leading the pack was the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust ETF

, which returned 101.35%, despite seeing substantial outflows as investors shifted to newer, lower-cost spot Bitcoin ETFs.

Close behind was the ProShares Bitcoin ETF

, an older ETF that isn't spot-based but employs an actively managed Bitcoin futures strategy known for generating high yields and monthly distributions. It returned an impressive 92.70%.

Some actively managed crypto ETFs also performed exceptionally well. The Bitwise Trendwise Bitcoin and Treasuries Rotation Strategy ETF

, for example, uses a trend-following strategy to allocate between Bitcoin and Treasuries, delivering an 89.53% return with lower volatility than spot Bitcoin ETFs.

Finally, crypto industry players like Coinbase and MicroStrategy benefited from Bitcoin's rally, and ETFs such as the First Trust SkyBridge Crypto Industry & Digital Economy ETF

reflected this, achieving a 77.84% return.

Winner: Magnificent Seven ETFs

The S&P 500's 23% return in 2024 wasn't driven by widespread gains. Instead, most of the heavy lifting came from just seven mega-cap stocks: Microsoft, Apple, Amazon, Nvidia, Meta Platforms, Tesla, and Alphabet.

Often referred to as the "Magnificent Seven," these tech, consumer discretionary, and communication services giants far outpaced the rest of the index, which delivered more modest returns. Their success was fueled by AI hype and exceptional earnings growth, particularly from Nvidia.

Many market-cap-weighted U.S. equity ETFs benefited from an overweight allocation to these stocks, but none more so than the Roundhill Magnificent Seven ETF

, which returned 68.15% in 2024.

This ETF equally weights all seven stocks on a quarterly basis, charges a 0.29% expense ratio, and has grown to $1.77 billion in assets under management (AUM). It's also highly liquid, boasting a 0.02% 30-day median bid-ask spread.

Notably, MAGS wasn't always known by its current name. Prior to November 9, 2023, it was called the Roundhill BIG Tech ETF with the ticker "BIGT" before rebranding to better reflect its focus on the Magnificent Seven.

Winner: Argentina ETFs

Argentina's election of libertarian president Javier Milei marked a turning point for the country's economic fortunes, and by 2025, his sweeping austerity measures have had a noticeable impact.

When Milei took office in November 2023, he inherited a country plagued by economic instability, including the world's highest inflation rate at 211%. Since then, he has successfully quelled inflation, bringing it down to 2.5% monthly.

Milei's administration has also launched major stimulus initiatives, such as the "Régimen de Incentivos para Grandes Inversiones" ("Incentive System for Large Investments"), which offers substantial tax concessions and foreign trade incentives to attract energy and materials investments.

In December 2024, Argentina eliminated its fiscal deficit for the first time in 123 years and ended its recession, signaling a remarkable economic comeback.

The obvious winner from this turnaround is the Global X MSCI Argentina ETF

, currently the only U.S.-traded Argentina-focused ETF. With $918 million in assets under management (AUM) and a 0.59% expense ratio, ARGT tracks 25 stocks in the MSCI All Argentina 25/50 Index.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not in any way constitute investment advice. The author may express their own opinions, which may not represent the opinions of ETF Central or its affiliated partners. It is essential that you seek advice from a registered financial professional prior to making any investment decisions.