Top 10 most-purchased ETFs in June 2021

UK-focused ETFs remain popular among investors.

Interest in UK-focused exchanged-traded funds (ETFs) remained strong in June, according to the latest most-bought ETF data from interactive investor. The iShares Core FTSE 100 ETF (LSE:ISF) kept its place as the most popular ETF for the third month in a row.

Investors also opted in large numbers for the main rival to this ETF, the Vanguard FTSE 100 ETF (LSE:VUKE). This ETF rose by one place in the rankings from the previous month to third place.

On a one-year basis, both ETFs have provided returns of almost 19%. However, driving these returns was the recovery since the large sell-off last year during the pandemic. On a three-year basis, both ETFs have proven more disappointing, returning just under 4%.

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Investors also opted for UK exposure in other ways. For example, also popular was the WisdomTree FTSE 100 3x Daily Leveraged ETP (LSE:3UKL).

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This ETF allows investors to gain triple the return (or losses) of the FTSE 100. Leveraged ETFs are highly risky.

However, sentiment towards UK mid-cap shares appears to be cooling. For example, the Vanguard FTSE 250 UCITS ETF (LSE:VMID) was down one place compared to May, in sixth place. In April, the ETF was the second most-popular ETF on the platform.

Despite the poor performance of gold prices in June, iShares Physical Gold ETC (LSE:IGLN) proved more popular than in the previous month, moving up by two places. Gold has been a rocky investment over the past year. While the precious metal reached all-time highs in August 2020, it has since declined. Measured over a one-year period, investors in this ETC have lost 11.5%.

WisdomTree Physical Gold, however, exited the top 10. It entered the top 10 last month in 10th place.

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iShares Global Clean Energy (LSE:INRG) is slightly less popular than it was last month, moving down by two places. In 2020, the ETF started to rise in the most-bought list, at times topping it, as investors became increasingly attracted to the decarbonisation theme. On a three-year basis, the ETF has returned 166%.

Since then the ETF has lost some of its shine. In part this is because the market has shifted towards favouring more value and cyclical stocks. However, the ETF has also been subject to some negative press due to the supposed liquidity risk it faced. To address these concerns, the ETF’s index provider, S&P Dow Jones, expanded the index. However, this has led to concerns among some that the ETF has become less “pure play”. However, at fifth place in the most-bought list, it is still proving relatively popular among investors.

Investors in June were still keen on both US and global shares. The Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (LSE:VUSD) kept its spot in second place, while the Invesco EQQQ NASDAQ 100 ETF (LSE:EQQQ) entered the rankings. Meanwhile, the Vanguard FTSE All-World (LSE:VWRD) ETF kept a place in the top 10, while the iShares Core MSCI World ETF (LSE:IWDA) stayed in ninth place.

Top 10 most-purchased ETFs in June 2021

Source: interactive investor. Note: the top 10 is based on the number of “buys” during the month of June.