Top ESG ETFs of October 2021

This month’s top ESG ETFs include Clean Energy, Cybersecurity and Crypto mining. Below we highlight the reasons why these ETFs performed well in October, along with a list of top ESG ETFs.

Clean Energy ETFs rise ahead of the COP26 summit

With fossil fuels prices exploding in October, Clean energy stocks were back on markets' radar as investors increased bets on global efforts to add more renewable energy in the mix. Clean energy and Hydrogen ETFs were one of the top performing ESG ETFs last month, led by First Trust Nasdaq Clean Edge Green Energy UCITS ETF (+23.58%), Horizons Global Hydrogen Index ETF (+23.29%) and Invesco Solar Energy UCITS ETF (+23.17%).

The COP26 summit, held in Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom, is expected to accelerate nations' push to attain net zero 2050 and Paris Climate Agreement goals through increased investments in clean energy, a positive momentum for related ETFs.

Top performing ESG ETF of the month: VCLO ETF

Simplify Volt Cloud and Cybersecurity Disruption ETF (VCLO) registered a staggering +40% gain in October to lead the top ESG ETFs of the month list. This is an actively managed thematic fund that holds disruptive companies in cloud and cybersecurity industries.

Its October success can be primarily linked to the rise of its top holding Cloudflare (+18.5%) which gained +72.85% last month after they announced the launch of several new products that captured investors' attention. Other major holdings like Datadog (8.72%) and CrowdStrike (8.29%) tagged along with +18.18% and +14.66% respectively.

As the global economy recovers, businesses will be in better shape to scale up their investments in IT development. This time, cybersecurity will be more of a priority than an afterthought with remote working in play.

Tesla lifts VCAR ETF to the Top ESG ETFs podium

Simplify Volt RoboCar Disruption and Tech ETF or VCAR gained +33.93% in October to become the second best ESG ETF of the month after its sister VCLO(#1). VCAR focuses on companies involved in autonomous driving technologies such as Tesla (20%), Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (6.19%) and Kuka (5.63%) among other. It also has an option overlay to create convexity in the portfolio to enhance the upside while improving drawdowns.

October's performance is primarily linked to Tesla's 44% surge on news that car rental company Hertz was ordering 100,000 Tesla vehicles by the end of next year. In addition to that, rising overall demand in advanced electric vehicles and semiconductors (main components in cars, and especially electric vehicles) propelled VCAR to the top performing ESG ETFs list.

Crypto miners benefit from October's crypto rally

The total cryptocurrency market cap rose from $1.9 trillion to $2.6 trillion in October as U.S. regulators approved multiple U.S. bitcoin-linked ETFs for the first time such as the ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF (BITO) and the Valkyrie Bitcoin Strategy ETF (BTF). The green light renewed crypto investors' enthusiasm toward the digital assets, lifting Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies to record highs.

Cryptocurrency miners attracted similar attention as revenues rose on higher prices, offsetting their mining costs and booking higher profits during the period.

Subsequently, the Viridi Cleaner Energy Crypto-Mining & Semiconductor ETF or RIGZ gained +31.61% during the same period. RIGZ is an actively managed fund that invests in ESG focused companies involved in the cryptocurrency mining industry. The industry includes crypto miners, crypto mining equipment providers, semiconductor producers, hosting and software providers, among others. Learn more about RIGZ in the following article: Investing in ESG-Stamped Crypto ETFs?

Top 10 ESG ETFs of the month:

• Simplify Volt Cloud and Cybersecurity Disruption ETF (VCLO): +40.33%
• Simplify Volt RoboCar Disruption and Tech ETF (VCAR): +33.93%
• Viridi Cleaner Energy Crypto-Mining & Semiconductor ETF (RIGZ): +31.61%
• First Trust Nasdaq Clean Edge Green Energy UCITS ETF (QCLU): +23.58%
• Horizons Global Hydrogen Index ETF: +23.29%
• Invesco Solar Energy UCITS ETF (SOLR): +23.17%
• The Defiance Next Gen H2 ETF: +22.87%
• First Trust NASDAQ Clean Edge Green Energy Index Fund: +21.93%
• Invesco Solar ETF (TAN): +21.62%
• ALPS Clean Energy ETF (ACES): +19.76%

Keep reading:

• Best ETFs of October
• What are Blockchain Games?
• A good week for the bulls

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