Top 10 most-purchased ETFs in July 2025
Gold fell in popularity last month, with tech, US and UK shares rising up the rankings.
4th August 2025 10:38
by Sam Benstead from interactive investor
Vanguard’s S&P 500 tracker funds reclaimed first and second place in our most-bought exchange-traded funds (ETF) list last month, knocking iShares Physical Gold ETC off the top spot.
The dividend distribution version (VUSA) was in first place, while the accumulation version (VUAG) was in second place. These ETFs charge just 0.07% a year to track the largest shares in America, nearly doubling investors’ money over the past five years.
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Measured in pounds sterling, the US market is about 4% off its all-time high, with a weaker dollar hurting returns this year.
July was a good month for the US stock market, with the index rising 2% in US dollar terms and 7% in sterling terms, with dollar strength against the pound providing a boost to British investors.
This helped boost other popular ETFs last month, with Vanguard FTSE All World Ucits ETF (distributing) rising one place to eighth and Invesco Nasdaq 100 Ucits ETF rising two places to sixth. Both funds are heavily invested in US shares, with the Vanguard tracker allocating 60.5% to the US and the Nasdaq 100 allocating 96.8% to US shares.
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Meanwhile, Vanguard FTSE All World Ucits ETF (accumulating) held on to fifth place and iShares Core MSCI World ETF USD Acc GBP (LSE:SWDA) fell one place to seventh.
SWDA owns around 1,400 global developed market shares and is a popular core holding for stock market exposure. The fee is 0.2% a year.
The Vanguard global trackers are “all world” funds, which means they own emerging market shares as well as developed world shares – they therefore have less invested in the US.
While gold fell in popularity last month, the iShares Physical Silver ETC held on to 10th place.
Over July, the gold price was relatively flat, starting the month at $3,352 an ounce and ending it at $3,295. Silver, however, rose from $36 to $37 an ounce.
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Gold is seen as a safe-haven asset but also a hedge against inflation, as the supply of the metal is relatively fixed, but governments are issuing more debt and increasing the money supply.
Both metals are volatile, but silver is a much bumpier ride than gold due to its wider industrial use. This means it has greater cyclical characteristics compared to gold.
There was one new entry last month: VanEck Crypto & Blockchain Innovation Ucits ETF in fourth.
This ETF owns companies involved in cryptocurrency and blockchain technology, such as Coinbase, MicroStrategy and Block.
It is viewed by many as a way of getting exposure to bitcoin inside an ISA wrapper, as the UK finance watchdog currently does not allow ETFs that track the price of cryptocurrencies.
Be warned though, this ETF is extremely volatile, and often moves more than the bitcoin price itself.
WisdomTree Europe Defence ETF dropped off the list, while VanEck Defense ETF fell to ninth from fourth in June.
Top 10 most-bought ETFs in July 2025
| Position | ETF | Change on last month | One-year return (%) | Three-year return (%) |
| 1 | Vanguard S&P 500 UCITS ETF GBP (LSE:VUSA) | Up one | 12.6 | 46.4 |
| 2 | Vanguard S&P 500 ETF USD Acc GBP (LSE:VUAG) | Up one | 12.6 | 46.4 |
| 3 | iShares Physical Gold ETC GBP (LSE:SGLN) | Down two | 31.5 | 71.9 |
| 4 | VanEck Crypto & Blockchain Innovation Ucits ETF (DAGB) | New entry | 40.2 | 150.5 |
| 5 | Vanguard FTSE All-World ETF USD Acc GBP (LSE:VWRP) | No change | 12.5 | 40.7 |
| 6 | Invesco EQQQ NASDAQ-100 ETF GBP (LSE:EQQQ) | Up two | 16.9 | 67.2 |
| 7 | iShares Core MSCI World ETF USD Acc GBP (LSE:SWDA) | Down one | 12.4 | 43.2 |
| 8 | Vanguard FTSE All-World UCITS ETF GBP (LSE:VWRL) | Up one | 12.5 | 40.7 |
| 9 | VanEck Defense ETF A USD Acc GBP (LSE:DFNG) | Down five | 72.7 | n/a |
| 10 | iShares Physical Silver ETC GBP (LSE:SSLN) | No change | 28.1 | 72 |
Source: interactive investor, FE Analytics as of 1 August 2025. Note: the top 10 is based on the number of “buys” during the month of July. Past performance is not a guide to future performance.
These articles are provided for information purposes only. Occasionally, an opinion about whether to buy or sell a specific investment may be provided by third parties. The content is not intended to be a personal recommendation to buy or sell any financial instrument or product, or to adopt any investment strategy as it is not provided based on an assessment of your investing knowledge and experience, your financial situation or your investment objectives. The value of your investments, and the income derived from them, may go down as well as up. You may not get back all the money that you invest. The investments referred to in this article may not be suitable for all investors, and if in doubt, an investor should seek advice from a qualified investment adviser.
Full performance can be found on the company or index summary page on the interactive investor website. Simply click on the company's or index name highlighted in the article.