Top 5 ETFs to watch in September 2026

Top 5 ETFs to watch in September 2026

Reading time: 8 minutes

Some ETF categories have performed strongly so far in 2026. S&P 500 ETFs have returned around 17.6% year-to-date, while technology-focused ETFs such as QQQ and VGT have gained more than 21%. AI enthusiasm, semiconductor sector strength and strong rallies in precious metals like silver and gold have been the main reasons for this outperformance. So much so that funds focused on chips and digital infrastructure have outpaced broader market indices, while select dividend and value funds have provided stable baseline growth.

So, which ETFs should you add to your watchlist to monitor broad market shifts, capture thematic growth, and manage risk? Here’s a look at the top ETFs to watch in September 2026.

What are ETFs and how are they traded?

ETFs are investment funds that hold a basket of assets, such as stocks, commodities or bonds, and trade on an exchange, just like individual stocks. They can either be bought and sold through a stock exchange or traded using Contracts for Difference (CFDs). When you trade ETF CFDs, you don’t own any units of the ETF itself. Instead, you speculate on whether its price will rise or fall. This allows you to capture both upward and downward market moves. CFDs are typically traded on leverage, which can increase both potential gains and losses. This makes risk management crucial.

Top 5 ETFs for September 2026

ETFs offer a convenient way to gain exposure to a broad market, sector or investment theme through a single instrument. With markets influenced by interest rates, corporate earnings, AI investment and shifting economic conditions, some ETF categories may attract more attention than others. Here’s a look at five ETFs to add to your watchlist for September 2026, spanning US equities, global markets, semiconductors and clean energy.

Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ)

QQQ tracks the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 index, offering exposure to 100 of the largest non-financial companies listed on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange. Tech mega-caps dominate the portfolio, including the Magnificent Seven: Nvidia, Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, Alphabet, Meta Platforms and Tesla. The fund provides exposure to large-cap growth companies and businesses at the forefront of technology and innovation.

Invesco manages QQQ passively using a full replication strategy. It officially converted QQQ from a Unit Investment Trust (UIT) into an open-end fund in December 2025.The new structure also gives the fund greater operational flexibility, including the ability to participate in securities lending. This reduced the fund’s net expense ratio to 0.18%. QQQ maintains Assets Under Management (AUM) of more than $457 billion, placing it among the most liquid financial instruments in the world.

QQQ delivered robust double-digit returns through 2025 and sustained positive momentum into 2026, driven by high corporate earnings growth in enterprise AI and software infrastructure. Analysts project continued earnings strength for top holdings in late 2026. Elevated valuations can leave the fund sensitive to earnings results and changes in growth expectations, potentially increasing short-term volatility around quarterly announcements.

Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO)

This ETF tracks the flagship S&P 500 index, which means the fund holds 500 of the largest publicly traded US stocks, representing about 80% of total US stock market capitalisation. Key sectors include information technology, financials, healthcare, consumer discretionary, and industrials.

Passively managed by Vanguard, VOO uses a full replication indexing strategy. It is one of the world's largest ETFs, with total net assets of more than $1.7 trillion. It charges an unusually low expense ratio of 0.03%, making it an attractive holding for both retail and institutional portfolios.

Many analysts believe VOO can be an appealing component on any ETF watchlist because the fund posted strong year-to-date gains through mid-2026, following a strong performance in 2025. Steady corporate profit expansion across different sectors supports a bullish medium-term outlook on the fund, although broader macroeconomic policy shifts remain a key factor for September trading.

VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH)

SMH tracks the MVIS US Listed Semiconductor 25 index. It provides focused exposure to the 25 largest US-listed semiconductor producers and equipment manufacturers. Core holdings include some of the largest names from these sectors, including Nvidia, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), Broadcom, Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) and ASML Holding.

VanEck manages SMH passively using a market-cap-weighted structure that applies individual constituent weight caps to maintain portfolio balance. The fund currently holds over $71 billion in AUM and charges an expense ratio of 0.35%.

The massive global demand for AI hardware, advanced node manufacturing and automotive chips has led SMH to outperform broader market benchmarks in recent years. VanEck's 2026 outlook highlights continued hyperscaler capital expenditure on data centres as a potential driver of semiconductor demand. Supply chain concentrations and export regulatory controls could create sharp price fluctuations, which can contribute to heightened volatility in the ETF.

iShares Core MSCI World UCITS ETF (SWDA)

This ETF tracks the MSCI World Index. It offers broad exposure to around 1,280 large- and mid-cap stocks across 23 major developed markets globally. US equities make up about 70% of the basket, with the remainder distributed across Japan, the UK, France, Canada, Germany and Switzerland.

BlackRock manages SWDA passively under the European UCITS framework. As an accumulating fund, it automatically reinvests stock dividends back into the portfolio. SWDA holds the equivalent of more than US$100 billion in assets and carries an expense ratio of 0.20%. The fund's YTD NAV total return stood at 13.92% as of 7 August 2026.

Many analysts view SWDA as a core instrument for tracking developed market growth while diluting the risk associated with the performance of any single country. If the developed economies all grow through the remainder of the year, it could provide a favourable backdrop for the fund through late 2026.

iShares Global Clean Energy ETF (ICLN)

ICLN tracks the S&P Global Clean Energy Transition index. It holds the stocks of about 100 companies engaged in solar, wind, hydro, clean technology manufacturing and renewable power infrastructure. Key stocks include First Solar, Bloom Energy, NextPower, China Yangtze Power and Enphase Energy.

This fund is also managed passively by BlackRock, using a representative sampling strategy to track its benchmark index. It maintains an expense ratio of 0.39% and commands an AUM of about US$2.1 billion.

After facing headwinds from high interest rates in previous years, clean energy equities made a big comeback. ICLN surged 46.59% in 2025 and gained 10.46% year-to-date by the first week of August 2026. Global grid modernisations and energy requirements from AI data centres were strong catalysts for the fund. Analysts expect rising capital expenditure in green infrastructure to help ICLN maintain its position among the top ETFs through the remainder of 2026.

Trading ETFs via CFDs

CFDs are a popular way to trade the top ETFs because they offer several advantages over holding physical ETF units. With CFDs, you can trade both rising and falling prices by opening a long position if you expect an ETF’s price to rise or short positions if you anticipate a temporary sector correction.

Also, as mentioned earlier, CFDs can be traded with leverage, which helps you open large positions with a small upfront capital requirement (margin) through leverage. However, risk management is crucial because leverage tends to amplify both gains and losses.

Many traders also use CFDs as part of their hedging strategy. For example, traders might open a smaller short position on an ETF CFD that they already hold a long position on and vice versa.

Market outlook and next steps

September 2026 is poised to be an active month for global markets as central bank policy adjustments, semiconductor developments and index rebalancings converge. Adding top ETFs to your watchlist can help you gain insight into how different sectors are performing.

Whether you want to gain long-term exposure or trade short-term price movements using ETF CFDs, your choice of broker determines your trading experience. At FP Markets, we are committed to providing our traders with advanced charting tools for informed decisions, deep liquidity, tight spreads and low-latency execution. Open an account with FP Markets today and explore ETF CDF trading.