There are a few prominent ASX ETF providers in Australia offering a variety of funds that track domestic and international indexes.
Over the past week I have covered the top funds from providers Betashares, Vanguard and iShares.
VanEck is another prominent ETF provider on the ASX, offering a range of ETFs that cover:
- Thematic investing (e.g. ESG, green energy, digital assets)
- Sectors (e.g. global healthcare, video gaming, semiconductors)
- Smart beta and factor-based strategies (e.g. quality, moat investing)
The provider released a new report with top ASX ETF performers for 1H25.
Let's look at some of the best performing funds from the last year in total.
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Vaneck Global Defence Etf (ASX: DFND)
The index includes only the largest and most liquid listed companies that generate at least 50% (25% for current constituents) of their revenues from military or defence industries. This may include companies whose business activity from the military and defence industries.
At the time of writing, it is made up of 31 holdings.
The fund is up 76.55% over the last year, and rose 48.00% in 1H 25 alone.
According to VanEck's report, global defence ETFs have benefited from a once-in-a-generation defence spending spree worldwide.
Among other ongoing geopolitical tensions throughout the world that serve as a tailwind for global defence, NATO's increase of the defence spending commitment to 5% of the GDP (up from 2%) will continue to drive growth in this segment over the next decade.
VanEck Vectors Gold Miners ETF (ASX: GDX)
This is another fund that has skyrocketed in the last year due to geopolitical tension and uncertainty.
Many investors have looked towards gold as a safe-haven asset amid geopolitical tensions, and US tariff turmoil.
In the last year it has risen 43.24%.
The fund gives investors exposure to a diversified portfolio of companies involved in the gold mining industry. GDX ETF is the largest gold miners ETF in the world.
According to VanEck, there may still be plenty of runway for gold stocks as they reclaim their role as a leveraged play on gold.
Our expectations of a sector re-rating are supported by continued strength in the gold price and are anchored to generally solid company fundamentals.
VanEck Vectors Video Gaming And eSports ETF (ASX: ESPO)
This fund has risen an impressive 47.03% over the last year including 23.17% in 1H 25.
It is designed to offer exposure to a diversified portfolio of the largest and most liquid companies involved in video game development, esports and related hardware and software globally.
It is currently made up of 31 holdings all with a market cap exceeding US$150 million.
The AI revolution has been a fresh growth driver for video gaming & esports companies, facilitating technological breakthroughs across the gaming value chain that has translated into faster revenue growth and steadily increasing operating margins. The sector's 12-month earnings-per-share growth of 6% is far stronger than that of the S&P 500 (-6.4%), Nasdaq (-5.8%) and the Mag 7 (0.6%).
