Top 10 best-selling ETFs of 2026

The only free lunch in investing, it is said, is diversification – and Fidelity’s customers certainly ate their fill in the first three months of the year.

Tracker funds that spread their money around global stock markets dominated the list of the most popular ETFs (exchange-traded funds) on our platform in the first quarter of the year, while funds that confine themselves to specific regions were thinner on the ground. A couple of specialised ETFs that invest in gold or defence stocks also made the cut.

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Investors appeared to favour the broadest possible exposure to stocks. Not all ‘global’ indices are as comprehensive as they sound. In particular, the popular MSCI World index excludes, despite its name, the emerging markets, which are included instead in the more diversified MSCI All Country World index.

The FTSE World index includes ‘advanced emerging’ markets such as Brazil and Mexico but not emerging markets such as China and India, for which you need the FTSE All-World index. Fidelity customers, over the first quarter of 2026, showed a marked preference for the more diversified indices, the ones that include emerging markets.

This may have been because those markets had performed well since Wall Street started to lag rival stock markets last year or may have been a way for investors to reduce exposure to the US: the MSCI World index has 70.1% exposure to American stocks, while the figure for the MSCI All Country World is 61.6%. 

Whatever the reasons, the Vanguard FTSE All-World was the best-selling ETF over the first three months of the year. The Invesco FTSE All-World ETF was in third position in the best-sellers’ table and the State Street SPDR MSCI All Country World took the fifth spot. The less diversified but still global Invesco MSCI World ETF was in fourth position. 

The only non-equity fund in the top half of the table was the iShares Physical Gold exchange-traded commodity in second place. The fund features on Fidelity’s Select 50 list of recommended funds. Until the start of the conflict in the Middle East gold had performed very strongly, although it has struggled since then.

In the lower reaches of the table we find the country or region-specific funds – the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (for US shares) in sixth place, the iShares Core MSCI Emerging Markets IMI Fund (IMI is explained here) in eighth position, the iShares Core FTSE 100 ETF for London-listed stocks in ninth place and for those wishing to limit their US exposure, the iShares MSCI World ex USA in tenth place. Completing the list was the VanEck Defense ETF in seventh position.

Best-selling ETFs in the first quarter of 2026

1. Vanguard FTSE All-World
2. iShares Physical Gold ETC
3. Invesco FTSE All-World
4. Invesco MSCI World 
5. State Street SPDR MSCI All Country World
6. Vanguard S&P 500 
7. VanEck Defense 
8. iShares Core MSCI Emerging Markets Investable Market Index
9. iShares Core FTSE 100
10. iShares MSCI World ex USA

Source: Fidelity International. Net ETF sales 1 January to 27 March 2026 for Personal Investors only.
 

Best-selling ETFs of 2025

1. iShares Physical Gold 
2. Vanguard S&P 500 
3. Vanguard FTSE All-World 
4. SPDR MSCI All Country World 
5. iShares Ultrashort Bond 
6. Invesco FTSE All-World  
7. VanEck Defense 
8. VanEck Crypto & Blockchain Innovators 
9. Vanguard FTSE Developed World 
10. HANetf Future of Defence

Source: Fidelity International. Net sales 1 January to 31 December 2025, for Personal Investors only.

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.