4 Best-Performing ETFs of September
Wall Street posted a downbeat performance in September. The S&P 500 was down 0.2%, the Dow Jones was off about 4.1%, the Nasdaq Composite was up 2.5%, and the Russell 2000 lost about 5.3%.
The key theme of the market was a hawkish Fed and rising bond yields. The yield on the 10-year Treasury bond rose to its highest level in nearly 20 years on inflation worries (read: Why Stocks Can Rally Despite 20-Year-High Bond Yields? ETFs in Focus).
Against this backdrop, below we highlight the winning exchange-traded funds (ETFs) of the month of September.
ETFs in Focus
Breakwave Tanker Shipping ETF BWET – Up 82.0% over the past one month (as of Oct. 1, 2027)
Disruptions across key maritime lanes have supported shipping stocks this year. Elevated shipping rates position the fund as a clear beneficiary. The closure of the Strait of Hormuz, along with ongoing disruptions in the Red Sea, has disrupted key shipping routes, driving a sharp surge in freight rates. This has strengthened the investment case for BWET (read: 5 ETF Areas That Have Nearly Doubled in First Nine Months of 2026).
Simplify Interest Rate Hedge ETF PFIX – Up 24.1%
The interest rate hedge corner of the market has been an area to watch as Treasury yields climb and investors brace for a potentially more hawkish Fed. The 10-year Treasury yield recently rose to its highest level since 2007, following hawkish Fed commentary and stronger-than-expected economic data. Note that the Fed has already enacted a 25-bp rate hike in mid-September. The fund PFIX charges 50 bps in fees and yields 5.90% annually.
Invesco Semiconductors ETF PSI – Up 20.7%
Investors continued to price in robust demand for AI chips, networking, memory and data-center infrastructure. Semiconductor stocks were among September’s strongest performers. Unlike highly NVIDIA-heavy funds, PSI uses a modified equal-weight approach, giving it greater exposure to memory, semiconductor equipment and other chip stocks. That helped it participate strongly when the rally broadened beyond NVIDIA.
United States Brent Oil Fund LP (BNO) – Up 12.9%
BNO has added about 50% in Q3, with about a 15% one-month gain. Tensions in the Strait of Hormuz remain in place as the Iran war drags on. Although there were claims that oil shipments hit a six-month high, energy prices showed no signs of cooling. No foolproof ceasefire has taken place yet.
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