Top 10 best-selling ETFs of 2026

Funds that track global stock market indices dominated our exchange-traded fund (ETF) best-seller list over the first nine months of the year, just as they did for the first quarter and the first half of the year.

Seven of the 10 most popular ETFs among Fidelity’s ‘DIY’ customers fell into that category between the beginning of January and the end of September. The same was true for the first six months of 2026.

The exceptions were a cash-like fund, a US stock market fund and an emerging markets ETF. 

• Refer a friend and you’ll both receive a £100 Amazon.co.uk gift card when they invest £5,000 or more in a qualifying account. T&Cs and exclusions apply. Find out more

In first place, as it was after three and six months, was the Vanguard FTSE All-World ETF. It has also regularly topped the table in recent individual months. The fund offers one-stop-shop global diversification into 3,755 individual stocks for an annual ‘ongoing’ charge of 0.14%. The ETF does however have a strong tilt towards American companies, which account for 61.6% of its assets.

In second place was the cash-like ETF, Amundi Smart Overnight Return. We say ‘cash-like’ because it takes a different approach from true ‘money-market’ funds, which lend to banks and other organisations over very short periods and earn interest at rates close to prevailing cash rates.

The Amundi fund seeks the same outcome but does so by entering into ‘derivative’ contracts with other financial institutions. So far it has succeeded in its aim: its capital value has risen in a very stable way as the income it earns is reinvested in the fund (no income option is available for sterling savers).

Next came the US stock market tracker, the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF, which invests directly in each of the constituents of the most prominent Wall Street index. The annual charge is 0.07%. 

A tracker that invests globally but targets a specific sector took fourth place. It could be argued that the VanEck Semiconductor ETF is in fact a US fund, because it tracks the MarketVector US Listed Semiconductor index.

However, its portfolio includes non-US companies such as the Dutch chip-machine maker ASML, the South Korean memory firm SK Hynix and the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), each of which has a listing in New York. As a result, only 72% of the fund is in American companies. The semiconductor sector has had a strong if volatile year and this ETF has risen by 91.3% so far in 2026.

The iShares MSCI World Ex USA was in fifth position in our top 10. This fund is likely to appeal to those who feel that ‘US exceptionalism’ has peaked or simply that Wall Street has become frothy. Companies from the eurozone account for 29.1% of its assets, followed by 22% in Japan, 13.2% in the rest of Europe, 12.3% in Canada and 11.9% in Britain.

Next came the Invesco FTSE All-World ETF. The index it tracks includes emerging markets, which enables the fund to have exposure to ‘emerging Asia’ (4.2% of assets). It also has 1% of assets in Latin America and 0.9% in the Middle East. The ETF has 2,091 holdings.

The only fund in the top 10 not to feature in our first-half best-sellers’ table was the Vanguard FTSE Global All-Cap ETF in seventh place. It achieved sufficient sales to earn its place despite becoming available on our platform only in early September. It has 6,405 holdings, spread across large, medium-sized and smaller stocks and across developed and emerging economies.

The FTSE All-World index, by contrast, includes large and medium-sized companies but not smaller stocks. The ETF that dropped out of the table to make way for this one was the Vanguard FTSE Developed World.

In eighth place was the State Street SPDR MSCI All Country World ETF. The index it tracks also includes stocks listed in emerging markets, unlike the more widely known MSCI World, which is restricted to developed markets.

The ninth most bought fund was the Vanguard FTSE All-World High Dividend Yield ETF. The index tracked by the fund consists of companies in developed and emerging markets that pay ‘dividends that are generally higher than average’. The ETF currently yields 2.6%, compared with 1.2% for the ‘plain vanilla’ Vanguard FTSE All-World ETF.

The final fund in the top 10 was the iShares Core MSCI Emerging Markets Investable Market Index ETF (Investable Market Index is explained here). The ETF is one of Fidelity’s Select 50 funds and Fundhouse, which compiles the Select 50 list on our behalf, says: ‘For investors looking for an exposure to emerging markets, who have a long-term horizon and are cost conscious, this fund represents a sensible choice on the riskier side of a portfolio.’ The annual charge is 0.18%.

Notable aspects of the top 10 are that it includes no UK fund and no Europe or Japan ETF. Neither do precious metals, bonds or crypto-related assets feature. And, despite their rising popularity, there are no active ETFs.

• Read: ‘ETF’ no longer means ‘passive’: the rise of active ETFs
   

Top 10 best-selling ETFs on Fidelity Personal Investing in 2026

1. Vanguard FTSE All-World
2. Amundi Smart Overnight Return
3. Vanguard S&P 500    
4. VanEck Semiconductor
5. iShares MSCI World Ex USA
6. Invesco FTSE All-World
7. Vanguard FTSE Global All-Cap
8. State Street SPDR MSCI All Country World
9. Vanguard FTSE All-World High Dividend Yield 
10. iShares Core MSCI Emerging Markets Investable Market Index 

Source: Fidelity International. Net ETF sales 1 January to 30 September 2026 for Personal Investors only.

• Read: Top 10 best-selling ISA and SIPP funds of 2026
• Read: Top 10 best-selling investment trusts of 2026
• Read: ISA ideas: low-cost index tracker fund options

Important information - investors should note that the views expressed may no longer be current and may have already been acted upon. This information is not a personal recommendation for any particular investment. Overseas investments will be affected by movements in currency exchange rates. Investments in emerging markets can be more volatile than other more developed markets. There is a risk that the issuers of bonds may not be able to repay the money they have borrowed or make interest payments. When interest rates rise, bonds may fall in value. Rising interest rates may cause the value of your investment to fall. There is no guarantee that the investment objective of any Index Tracking Sub-Fund will be achieved. The performance of the sub-fund may not match the performance of the index it tracks due to factors including, but not limited to, the investment strategy used, fees and expenses and taxes. Reference to specific securities should not be construed as a recommendation to buy or sell these securities and is included for the purposes of illustration only. If you are unsure about the suitability of an investment you should speak to one of Fidelity’s advisers or an authorised financial adviser of your choice.